Where I Belong
by Huhn
Summary: With the rest of the crew detained after the Martian Incident, Ruri finds herself alone and cut off from the life she once knew. Just as she realises the meaning of loneliness, it becomes the least of her problems...
1. One

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Where I Belong

Disclaimer – Nadesico is owned by Xebec and ADV Vision. 

A/N – Welcome to my first real attempt at fanfiction! It takes place after the final episode of Nadesico, so contains spoilers for the series. I'll warn you now that I've only seen volumes 4 through 12 of Nadesico, so I'll apologise if I get some things wrong. 

I'm probably not the only one surprised by the severe lack of Nadesico fics on this site. I was even more surprised by the lack of fics centred around Ruri, considering she's one of the most popular characters. In any case, this fic focuses on her and what happens to her after the final episode. Any criticism is welcome, especially on the characterisation of Ruri. 

One

It was over, at least for now. With that ancient supercomputer now aboard the Nadesico, boson jumping through tulips was no longer possible, bringing the war between the Earth and the Jovians to an absolute standstill for the time being. A peace of sorts had been achieved, which meant the Nadesico's mission was a success, albeit a temporary one.

It had been two days since the incident on Mars. Most of the crew were now at the celebratory party which Yurika had organised as a well-deserved treat after the trials of the last year. Everyone was relieved to finally be able to let themselves go and have a good time. Of course, there was one crew-member who still remained on the bridge despite the merry-making taking place elsewhere on the ship. 

She knew she should be annoyed, since everyone had conveniently forgotten that at least one person had to be up here while the Nadesico was in motion, and so had left her to hold the fort by default. But in truth, she wasn't so bothered. She had grown used to manning the bridge alone and besides, she was hardly a party animal. Her satisfaction from their victory came purely from the relief that she and her friends had survived the ordeal. 

"I thought I'd find you here, Miss Hoshino," 

Ruri looked up from her console as a newcomer entered the room. She recognised him well enough – Nagure Akatsuki, the chairman of Nergal. This man had betrayed the Nadesico in the days leading up to the Martian Incident, but now that his own battleship had been destroyed by the Jovians, he was here on the Nadesico as a prisoner of sorts. Not that they'd locked him up or anything, but he was no longer regarded as a crew-member, more like a passenger under supervision. After everything he'd done, Ruri didn't trust him any further then she could throw him.

"So why aren't you down partying with the rest of them?" he asked, propping himself against the other side of her console.

"Someone has to keep an eye on things up here, Mr Akatsuki," Ruri replied steadily. 

"Amazing how it always seems to be you, eh?"

Ruri shrugged, not lifting her eyes from the console in front of her. "I don't really mind. Now that there aren't any Jovian attackers to deal with, controlling the Nadesico is no longer such a big job."

"Naturally," replied the tall Aesti pilot. "Guess it's not so exciting anymore either."

This interruption to her quiet evening had irritated Ruri slightly, so she decided to go out on a limb. "Mr Akatsuki, would I be correct in assuming that you didn't come up here for small-talk?" 

Akatsuki's mouth curved upward in amusement. "My, you are a suspicious one!"

"Am I right?"

Akatsuki laughed out loud. "Ever the analyst, aren't you Ruri dear?" He shifted to face her. "Well in truth there is something I want to run by you, while you're here alone."

Ruri looked up at him as a sign that he should continue. Her immense hazel eyes held curiosity now. Akatsuki parked himself at Megumi's post and sat facing the eleven-year old child, his arms casually folded. He met her eyes when he spoke again.

"You've done a great job here Ruri. A fantastic job."

Ruri didn't alter her expression as she replied. "I think we all have, Mr Akatsuki."

"But you in particular. Haven't you seen how those other fools rely on you to keep this ship in order?"

Where was this leading too? The girl coughed to delay her answer, then said, "The Nadesico isn't controlled by any one person. We succeed because we work as a team towards a common objective." This truly was her view, and had been for a while. Although she constantly criticised the mental prowess of her fellow crewmembers (idiots), she knew that their success, and indeed their very survival had required the skills of many. Where would they be today without Mr Uribatake's mechanical expertise, without Ryoko's awesome battle-skill, without Minato's smiling face under all difficulties? However, Akatsuki didn't seem to share her view. 

"Nonsense! Don't deny your true value – both Erina and I have seen the evidence. Need I remind you that it was your rallying cry that reunited the crew aboard the Nadesico? That your hacking skill bypassed Nergal's security so you could take her back? Let's not mention the fact that you're up here at your post nearly twenty-four seven while the rest of they crew are all out chasing the fanboy." 

She wasn't good at dealing with flattery. And the fact it was coming from Nagure Akatsuki, a traitor who had barely spoken to her before now, made her all the more suspicious. She decided it was time to get to the point. 

"Where is all this leading to, Mr Akatsuki?" 

"My master plan, Miss Hoshino," Akatsuki rose and strode over to the massive view-screen at the front of the bridge, standing with his back to Ruri, staring into the infinity of stars beyond the screen, as if watching and waiting for the future to come to him. 

"My ambitions haven't ended with the destruction of my Kakistubata. Even as we speak, Nergal is in the process of building a new ship back on Earth, to be completed in around fifteen months time. This one will be a true battleship, several times more powerful than the current Nadesico. It will be almost twice as large, with a whole fleet of Aestavalis units and two P-T cannons! This baby will be able to travel to Jupiter and fight the whole war for us, cutting off our foes at the source!" He slapped his hands together to accentuate his point. 

He turned to face her again, sheer ambition and pride riding in his eyes. "I want you to be aboard that ship Ruri, as her computer operator. You can continue your fight for peace aboard a true battleship with a trained crew. You'll be no longer held back by the fools you currently work with!"

Ruri didn't need to think long before delivering her answer. "I'm flattered by your offer Mr Akatsuki, but I'm afraid I must decline." 

Akatsuki was unfazed. "Now, now, don't be impulsive Ruri dear! I had a feeling that would be your first response, what with all that's happened. Take a step back and look at the situation. You fought against the Jovians under the command of that Yurika. All I'm asking is that you continue that task under me. And I'm not such a bad guy!" He grinned at her. 

Ruri's tone remained constant. "Although her captaining skill was questionable I always followed Miss Misumaru because she truly fought for a peace that benefited all parties. On the other hand, your goals are money, power, the destruction of the Jovians and conquest of boson technology. All of which are selfish."

"True, true I won't deny my objectives. But how do you think this war will progress unless we destroy the Jovians? You tried peace talks and they failed. The Jovians must be annihilated before we can truly live on a peaceful Earth!"

"If we seek to destroy the Jovians then we are no better then they are." Ruri replied steadily. "True peace can only be achieved if both peoples agree to accept each other and work together to build a better tomorrow. It's been said so many times by so many people. Don't you understand that yet?"

Akatsuki emitted his overly loud and unpleasant laugh again. "An impossible dream, Ruri dear! You should know more than anyone that the Jovians want nothing more than bloody war. We have to take steps to defend ourselves. I'm surprised you can't see that!" 

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I won't be on this new ship of yours. I would also dissuade you from building it altogether. You still don't understand what true justice involves." 

"True justice?" Akatsuki smirked. "Sounds like quite a big concept for such a little girl! Okay, let's approach this differently," He came around the console and seated himself at Megumi's post again. "Think to the future, Ruri."

"The future?"

"Yes," said the dark-haired man. "You can't stay aboard the Nadesico forever, not without Nergal or UEAF funds backing it. I anticipate that the Captain's little game will come to an end once she realises she can't forever control a crew without food or wages!"

"That's true," admitted Ruri. "That's why we're heading back to Earth now." 

"Yes, and what will happen when we get there? Everyone will go their own way. I expect Tengowa and the Captain will gallop off into the sunset together. That Megumi has her voice-acting and Minato will go and start a life together with that Jovian brat. The crew will all go their separate ways. And where will that leave you?"

Ruri couldn't stop herself from inwardly gasping. He'd spoken aloud her one of her key fears, of being left alone and forgotten. She'd deliberately avoided thinking about her uncertain future, but Akatsuki's words shoved the problem right into her face. What _would_ she do when they reached Earth? 

Akatsuki was merciless. "The only life you've ever had is coming to an end Ruri. You can't deny it. And what will you do when it does? How will you support yourself?" He laughed out loud again – Ruri really wished he'd stop doing that. 

"Despite your prodigal ability you're still just a little girl – it's not like you'll be able to take a regular job. So what else does that leave you? A foster home? Forced to repress your immense mental power and become another unwanted orphan?" 

The man with long black hair paced over to the pale girl behind the console and faced her, ambition flowing through his veins. "Come with me, Ruri. I can give you a role which allows you to fully utilise your powers!" 

Ruri's mind was swimming, but she remained focused enough to deliver her reply. 

"It's true I don't know where my future will lead me. But I do know that I won't fight for you." 

By now, she'd thought he would be getting angry, but his voice was still level and composed as he said, "I suppose it's only natural that this is your first response after a year of warfare, but I'm patient. I'm not asking you to make a decision now. Think it over first and call me when you know your answer." Akatsuki place his business card on the desk in front of her. "I'll be waiting for your call. I advise that you don't let our Blue Mother Earth down!" With a sly smile, he turned and strode out of the bridge. He stopped at the door. 

"And by the way, this conversation never took place. Be seeing you, Ruri-chan."

Ruri picked up the card and watched him leave through the corner of her eye. After he'd left the room, she put the card in her shirt pocket, sighing deeply as she did so.

"Idiot,"

****

A/N - Well, that's chapter one done. Feel free to comment. Flame me to cinders if you must. In any case, chapter two will be going up very soon. Watch this space!


	2. Two

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Two

The rest of that night had passed relatively uneventfully. At one point an inebriated Jun had come on to the bridge, sunk down beside her and started bawling out how unfair it was that he'd finally lost Yurika to Akito for good. Ruri had pretended to listen to his whines until he'd eventually staggered off to search for more booze. 

It was nearly noon the next day by the time someone else came to the bridge. Minato had walked in, seen Ruri and realised she'd been there all night missing the party completely. She'd been beside herself with guilt and had apologised for a good few minutes and gone on about how she should have just left it to the autopilot, or come and fetched one of the other helmswomen. No matter how much Ruri affirmed that she hadn't minded, Minato still insisted that she'd make it up to her someday. Ruri hadn't been in the mood to further relieve her of her guilt. She'd been on the bridge for a good fifteen hours now and was more than ready for some well-deserved sleep.

Eight hours shut-eye and a quick meal later, she was summoned to the bridge by Prospector for a meeting between the key members of the crew. Akatsuki and Erina were absent and the reason for that became clear when Prospector announced the purpose of this gathering. 

"We'll be arriving back on Earth within twenty-four hours now," he said. "It's high time we worked out a plan of action."

"For what?" asked Captain Yurika, clueless as usual.

"We won't just be able to waltz back in as if nothing's happened, Captain," the accountant continued. "After stealing back the Nadesico from Nergal, we're criminal's of sorts."

"This ship is ours," Ruri said. It had been those very words that had reunited the crew in the first place.

"On some levels maybe, but she is still property of Nergal Heavy Industries," said Prospector. "Needless to say, the UEAF won't be too happy with us."

"So what are you saying?" asked Akito, his brow furrowing. "That we'll be arrested the moment we set foot on Earth soil?"

"That's pretty much the case. I'm not sure how seriously they'll take this transgression, but we're certainly looking at a period of detention for the crew. However, on the grounds that our actions halted the war, they may be prepared to be a bit more lenient with us. Especially if we don't resist arrest."

"Hey wait a minute! Are you suggesting we just give ourselves up!?" Ryoko snapped.

"It's our best chance of avoiding a long prison sentence." Prospector replied, pushing his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose. 

"Well, I for one would prefer a few months detention to several years in the brig," said Minato. 

"What are your thoughts, Yurika?" asked Jun.

Yurika rubbed her chin anxiously for a moment, before saying, "Well I don't see that we have much of a choice. If we don't turn ourselves in, we'll just be hunted down like we were before. I suppose its better that we cooperate this time."

"Then we'll play along?" 

Yurika nodded, a little glumly. "It's the best thing for the crew. We'll return to Hiratsuka and let the UEAF and Nergal do what they want with us."

"Is that your final decision Captain?" asked Goat Hoary, his voice typically low and level.

"I guess so," she said weakly.

"A wise course of action Captain," said Prospector. "If there are no objections then I'll go and inform Mr Akatsuki immediately." He began to walk over to the door, signalling a conclusion to the meeting. 

Judging by the looks on peoples faces, Ruri could see that none of the others were overly pleased with their future prospects. There were grim expressions all round, and Ryoko seemed to be fighting a losing battle with her contained anger. Ruri knew they were feeling the same way as she was inside. Somehow, idiotically, they'd assumed that once peace had been restored they'd be able to return to a hero's reception and a peaceful, civilian life. Just like in anime. But that wasn't to be the case; before their new lives could begin they would have to pay for their past actions. Course, by now they should have been used to it. Things had a habit of turning out more complicated than they should be for this crew. 

Complaining wasn't going to change their fate, so everyone returned to their posts without a word. Like it or not, their best hope of a normal life sometime in the future was to return to the scene of the crime

***

No sooner had the Nadesico landed at Hiratsuka Docks, half a day later, than a communication screen flashed up, displaying a tanned man in uniform with horrible slit-like eyes, like those of a snake, and a shiny, shaven scalp which reflected light like a still puddle.

_"Nadesico crew, may I have your attention please. This is Commander Kazuo Yano, here on behalf of the UEAF. I bring instructions for you to power down all systems on the Nadesico and assemble in the main hanger with any belongings you wish to take off the ship within the next half hour. Captain Misumaru will deliver the Nadesico's master key to me personally within that time. In a half-hour we conduct a register in the hanger to account for all crew-members. After that has been completed to our satisfaction, we will escort all crew-members to the detention centre where we will provide further details. We appreciate your cooperation." _

"Well, I hope no-one has dinner plans!" joked Minato with a sweet smile. Her attempts to lighten the mood failed – no-one wanted to be cheered up at the moment. 

"Are we docked, Ruri?" the captain asked.

"Aye Ma'am,"

"Power down P-T engines, Minato."

"Yes Captain." With the touch of a button, the constant humming of the Nadesico's background noise ceased. 

"I guess that's it then," Yurika moved over to the console behind her and reached down to grasp the handle of the master key. She took a deep breath, then with one deft movement she turned it square. Gradually the lights that covered the bridge dimmed as the power and major systems of the Nadesico were shut down. Ruri felt Omoikane's presence fade gradually and unstoppably, like water trickling through her fingers. Within a few seconds, she had disappeared completely. After battling hard for a year, the Nadesico was finally put to rest.

For a while, no-one moved or said anything. Ruri hadn't even blinked - she simply sat there, staring disbelievingly at the lifeless console before her, as if she'd just seen someone killed before her very eyes. To her left Megumi stared mournfully down at her headset, resting on her lap. Minato was resting her head gloomily in her hands while above them Yurika and Jun exchanged solemn expressions.

Eventually, it was Yurika broke the awful silence. "Well, I guess that's it everyone. You've been a really great bridge-crew!" she added with forced enthusiasm. "Thanks for all your help over the past year. Without you, we would never have made it this far!"

"And thank you for being an excellent captain, Yurika," said Jun. Half-hearted murmurs seconded his proclamation.

Yurika smiled wanly. "We were a great team," She tossed the Master Key up into the air and caught it again with one hand. "Well, I guess we'd better get down to the hanger now."

Grudgingly, the bridge-crew began to leave their posts and make for the exit. Everyone that was, except Ruri who remained in her seat with her eyes downcast. Minato noticed this and put a hand on the child's shoulder. 

"Are you coming, Ruri-Ruri? 

"Yes," Ruri brought her head up slowly. She placed her hand on the control surface one last time before leaving the bridge with Minato.

"_Goodbye Omoikane_,"

***

Ruri and Minato were the last to leave the bridge. As they stepped out into the corridor, they saw Erina Won, co-helmswoman and secretary to the Nergal Chairman, leaning against the wall. Everyone else had already dispersed. 

"I'd like to speak to Ruri for a moment," she said, rather ominously.

"Yes?" Ruri said, giving her her attention.

"Alone," Erina stated, eyeing Minato.

Minato looked down at the girl. "Is that okay with you?"

Ruri looked at Erina, then back to Minato. "Yes. I'll catch up with you in the hanger,"

"Okay then Ruri-Ruri!" Minato winked at her then continued walking down the corridor.

"What is it you want to speak to me about?" asked Ruri, as soon as Minato was an appropriate distance away. 

Erina smiled down at her, making the girl feel a tad uneasy. It wasn't a friendly smile, more like the one she always wore when she had the upper-hand. "I have some good news for you. You may just be the luckiest person on the ship!" 

"Why is that?" asked Ruri. She hated talking to Erina, perhaps even more so than Akatsuki. She was as unscrupulous as they came, especially when it came to dealing with other people. She managed to make the mention of good news sound like she was about to receive the worst punishment in her life. 

"You're off the hook," she said. "Since you're below thirteen years of age, you're exempt from UEAF detention laws in this situation."

"I see. Thank you for telling me." No triumph rode in Ruri's voice, but neither did the discomfort she felt at hearing this news. She wasn't to be detained? But where would she go?

This wasn't the time to decide that. The last person she was going to discuss her fears for the future with was this despicable woman in the hallway. Instead, she continued walking again, not deigning Erina another glance.

She'd barely taken a few steps before Erina spoke again – she hadn't finished with her yet. "Of course Nergal is responsible for it's employees and couldn't just let a young girl out into the big, wide world by herself. So we've organised a home for you."

"A home?" Ruri stopped dead in her tracks. 

"Yes, an orphanage in the Northern Area." She seemed to be taking sadistic pleasure out of this. "If you'll come to my office now we can discuss it further,"

Ruri swallowed nervously. "Okay," she said. What choice did she have? 

***

So that was that. The morning after her meeting with Erina, the youngest crew-member of the Nadesico was whisked away to a remote village, in which the Seven Oaks orphanage was stationed. UEAF detention laws forbid her to see any of her fellow crewmates, even for the briefest moment. She was never given a chance to say goodbye to them, the only real friends she'd ever had. 

Twenty four hours was all it had taken for her life to transform completely. No longer was she the computer operator for the world's most powerful battleship, she was now merely Ruri the orphan-girl. Would she adapt? Or would the trials of adjustment prove to be too great a challenge for Nadesico's wonder-child?


	3. Three

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Three

"This is the place," murmured the gruff Nergal lackey who was accompanying her. 

Ruri slowly turned her head to look out of the car window, almost reluctant to stare at her new home. The sign at the gate read _Seven Oaks Orphanage_. Beyond the sign Ruri saw an old long red-brick house with two storeys, surrounded by the seven colossal trees after whom the place was named. In the dreary day they looked especially sinister, stark black shapes against a bleak grey sky. They were almost like prison guards, Ruri observed. The building itself was in a bad state of repair, but the golden tulips in the garden and children's paintings in the windows made it look slightly more welcoming. Only slightly mind. 

The car pulled up just outside of the orphanage, but Ruri didn't move. She waited for the door to be opened for her by the driver until moving. Childish, she knew, delaying the dreaded moment for as long as possible. 

"Come on," growled her escort impatiently as he hauled out her small suitcase. He seemed embarrassed to be performing this duty.

The pale eleven-year old followed him up the path into the orphanage grounds, every step taking her a pace towards a dark, uncertain future. Her mind was clogged up with useless thoughts and wasn't operating with its usual competence. For now, she was resigned to her fate and automatically walking ever onwards towards it. 

Once they were halfway along the front path, Ruri saw a couple of children, a boy and a girl, neither more than five years of age, playing together with a ball. They were smiling and laughing, content in the innocence of youth. However, when they noticed the intruders and met Ruri's blank stare, they stopped and fell silent. Their faces suddenly became cheerless as they watched this newcomer enter the building's reception. 

The hallway was dank and unwelcoming, doing nothing to improve Ruri's first impressions. Grubby hand marks marred the walls and frenzied shouts came from unseen sources. A musty smell hung in the air, giving the place an inhospitable atmosphere.

"Ah, you must be Ruri!"

The woman who had approached them was somewhere around the sixty year borderline by Ruri's guess. Her dark hair had been lost to greyness and her form was plump with age. Wrinkles lined her merry face, and her petite eyes smiled along with her mouth from behind her tiny pair of spectacles. She had taken Ruri's hand and was shaking it gently.

"Welcome to Seven Oaks, Ruri! I'm Miss Nishida and I run the orphanage. We're very glad you've come to stay with us and we'll do our very best to make sure you're comfortable here."

"Here is her personal information," replied the Nergal man, shoving a few papers into the old woman's face. He was obviously eager to get the child off his hands and leave as soon as possible. 

"Thank you, good sir!" replied this Miss Nishida person, taking the papers and giving them a brief look-over. "Now Ruri, how about I show you up to your room and then afterwards you can meet the other children!"

Ruri replied only with the tiniest tip of her head. Her face remained impassive and her mouth stayed shut. Miss Nishida remained smiling as helped she helped the child haul her suitcase up the stairs – it was clear Ruri wasn't the first unenthusiastic orphan to come here.

"Did you have a nice trip?" the old woman asked, hoping to get the child to talk a bit more. 

"It was fine," Ruri replied dully. 

The landing was long, with five doors on each side, each one presumably leading to a bedroom. The door outside which Miss Nishida stopped was the second to last on the left wall before the corridor ended in a grimy window. 

"Now then. This'll be your room Ruri!"

As the elderly woman pushed open the wooden door, Ruri looked through to her room and her worst fears were confirmed. There were three beds and many signs of occupancy in this room – stuffed animals sat on two of the beds and clothes were strewn across the floor. This was a shared room. She couldn't tolerate that, she _craved_ privacy. On the Nadesico she'd been lucky enough to have her own quarters, so she'd had ample personal space. But here, sharing with two people who she didn't even know? How could she deal with that?

"I know it's not exactly five-star, but this room has a nice view of the back garden and Tina and Mikoto are _such_ nice girls! Your bed is over there, by the wall." 

"It's great," she replied without enthusiasm. She slowly walked in and dumped her suitcase on the bed that was to be hers.

"You can keep your clothes in the closet over there, and there're a few drawers in the bedside table if you need to use them for all your little things!"

"I see,"

"Now Ruri, the house rules are written here," Miss Nishida gestured at a sign posted on the back of the door. "You seem like a sensible girl, so you shouldn't have any trouble with them. Breakfast is at 7:30 am and supper is at 7:30 pm. We made it those times so it's easier to remember! The bathroom is midway along the landing and there's warm water from 6:30 am if you want a shower. Those are all the basics."

"Thank you," murmured Ruri, desperately hoping that this woman would give her a peaceful moment alone.

"How about I make you a nice cool drink and then take you to the games room and introduce you to the other children?" 

Looking to one side, out of the window, Ruri said, "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather unpack first." She needed time to herself, time to think. 

"Well, if you're sure," Miss Nishida beamed back at her. "How about we introduce you to everyone at dinner then?" Mercifully, she walked over to the door. "If you need anything at all, I'll be down in the office. It's just at the bottom of the stairs. Now are you sure you're okay, dear?"

"Yes," Ruri stated heavily. 

"Then I'll see you later, dear!" Mercifully, the elderly woman disappeared.

For the first time since this morning, Ruri was alone. With that woman gone, she turned her attention to the room she was standing in. It wasn't a particularly large room, but there was enough floor space so that it wasn't cramped. The wallpaper was a faded blue and was peeling hideously in places. As for furniture, there were three beds, one each against opposite walls and another in the centre. A small closet of light wood stood beside the door, looking out of place in the room. Two large windows, on the long wall opposite the door, gave a view to the back garden below, as Miss Nishida had said. 

Sighing deeply, she turned back to her bed. Her eyes fell upon her suitcase lying there. It was time to unpack, but she felt a strange reluctance to do so – as if that would confirm the fact she was staying here for the rest of her childhood. She eventually decided that she should at least unpack her clothes, if only to give her something to do for a few moments.

She opened her suitcase, and took out her Nergal uniform. Although she would be no longer required to wear it, she found it comfortable so she might get some more use out of it. Handling it with care not to crease it, she hung it up in the closet, where several other articles of clothing had already been stored by her roommates. Next she took out her mobile, the one with the colourful fish. She'd packed it between two sets of clothes so that it wouldn't be damaged while they were travelling. For now, she set it gently to one side. 

She unpacked her other clothes and put them away. At the bottom of her briefcase, underneath her blue towel, was her laptop, which she'd managed to smuggle out of the Nadesico. In theory it was property of Nergal, but she felt that after a decent year's service, not to mention Akatsuki's filthy betrayal, it was the least they owed her. Besides, she would go insane without a computer to mess around with. For now, she left it under the towel in the case, for safety's sake. She's just finished pushing the nearly empty suitcase under her bed when she heard the voice.

"Who the hell are you?"

Ruri looked around to see a slight girl, around her own age, with shiny purple hair tied in two long plaits ending in buttercup-yellow bows. Her small face had high dimples, and was currently displaying an expression of outright hostility, her small mouth down-turned and her eyebrows sternly knit.

Ruri replied, her voice strictly neutral. "My name is Ruri Hoshino. I am new here."

"Oh _you're_ the new girl," The girl strode into the room as if she owned the place. "I wish Miss Nishida had told me that my new roommate was a zombie."

Puzzled by this girl's unjustified aggression, Ruri struggled to think of something to say. Did she truly think she was the living dead, or was she just being offensive? What basis would this offensiveness have? Ruri had never met a normal girl of the same age as her and didn't know what to think. Instead of a response, she tried a friendly question.

"What's you name?"

The other girl, now rummaging through a bedside drawer, replied with an acidic glare. "Why would I tell a zombie?"

"I assure you that I am human," Ruri said levelly. "My pale complexion is a result of genetic modification conducted before I was born."

The hostility in the girl's large blue eyes turned to utter disgust now. "What are you talking about, you freak?!"

Ruri couldn't find anything to say to that, but as it turned out she wouldn't have had a chance to anyway since the girl continued talking.

"Let me get one thing straight," she said. "We don't want you here."

"Fine," replied Ruri calmly. "If we are being honest with each other, then I don't particularly want to be here either. But since we're sharing a room, I suggest we don't waste our energy on arguing."

"Hmph." The still nameless girl wrinkled her nose at her and strode out of the room. Ruri was left a little disturbed by this encounter. Had she done something to offend her? Were all the other children here just like her? She shook her head clear of those thoughts. She was only worrying because she was bored. With a brief, characteristic sigh, she lay back on her bed with one of her books, savouring this moment to herself.


	4. Four

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A/N – Many thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far! You've given me the emotional uplift I needed to complete this chapter. I'm afraid it's a bit depressing, but enjoy it anyway!

'_The War of the Worlds_' was written by H.G. Wells. Thought I'd better mention that just in case. 

****

Four

It was seven-thirty on the dot when Miss Nishida poked her beaming mug around the door to call her for dinner. Ruri had been thoroughly engrossed in her copy of '_The War of the Worlds_', and this abrupt summoning felt like being woken up after not having enough sleep. 

"Dinner's ready dear!" she'd called merrily. Reluctantly putting the old book to one side, Ruri went with her. 

"I read in your records that you're not a vegetarian. That's right isn't it?! It's just that we had one girl who was, but she didn't tell us at first and ended up eating meat for three days! Isn't that silly? Nevertheless she was a shy girl so it wasn't that surprising that she didn't say something, but you would have thought…"

_"She speaks far too much. Idiot!" _thoughtRuri.

"…..anyhow I'm sure you'll be eager to meet the other children. Have you meet any of them yet? I told them to come and say hello, but they were a bit shy, you know what it's like! But they're really nice once you get to know them!"

Children's voices could be heard from another room as they descended the stairs. Ruri felt apprehension flow through her as her steps took her towards them. 

Miss Nishida took her through to the large dining room, where a great many children were seated around three long tables. There must have been around somewhere around twenty-five children in total in the room, of all sizes, ages and descriptions. The noise of juvenile voices was deafening. Ruri noticed that an adult was seated at the head of each table.

"Settle down please children!" called out Miss Nishida. Surprisingly, her gentle voice penetrated through the din. With a little assistance from the other adults, she managed to restore calm. The quiet served to amplify Ruri's anxiety.

"Children, today we welcome a new member to our household. Say hello to Ruri!"

Every face in the room turned to look at her. Some were curious, some were disinterested and some were openly hostile. Ruri saw that girl from earlier give her a particularly ugly look. In true Ruri fashion, she didn't let her expression reveal anything. 

"Hello," the children chorused. Ruri still kept her face neutral, not totally sure whether she should say anything. In the end, she was saved since the door at the other end of the room opened and the food came through which grabbed the attention of the other children with almost indecent speed. Within a few moments it was being dished up and the talking resumed.

"You can sit here Ruri," said Miss Nishida, pulling back a chair for her. Ruri nodded slightly as acknowledgement and sat down, just as a steaming plate of food was put in front of her. A few of the other children were giving her strange glances, but none of them tried to speak to her. 

Miss Nishida, now sitting at the head of the table, said, "So I'm sure we're all interested to hear about the new girl. Why don't you tell us about yourself Ruri?"

Talking about herself wasn't exactly Ruri's favourite pastime, especially amongst a crowd of strangers, but nevertheless she attempted. 

"My name is Ruri Hoshino. I was born in Scandinavia by test-tube fertilization. Before I was born I was genetically altered to improve my learning ability and resistance to disease. I was intellectually nurtured in a lab from a young age and when I was four, I was adopted by a couple who worked at Nergal Heavy Industries and trained to become a crewmember of Nergal's new gunship, the Nadesico. When I was eleven I was hired by Nergal and instated aboard the Nadesico as computer operator. Over course of the next year I…"

She was interrupted by soft laughter from several of the children at the table. They were all exchanging amused glances, clearly thinking she was joking with them. Miss Nishida coughed, obviously not believing Ruri's story anymore than the children, though there hadn't been any trace of mockery in the child's voice. 

"Now Ruri!" she said, with a smile. "That's not really true is it?!"

Ruri shot her an incredulous glance, as if she'd just accused her of murder. "Of course it's true," 

The laughter became louder as they saw she was sticking to her story. Ruri simply sat there, unsure of what to think. They clearly didn't believe her. Did her story sound so far-fetched? Maybe it did, but in any case what possible reason would she have for lying? It's not as if she'd stand to gain anything! 

"Idiots!" she murmured under her breath.

"Well," said Miss Nishida. "That sounds quite interesting," There wasn't much else she could say since both pretending to believe her and accusing her of lying would be improper. She did take steps to silence the laughter though, using a few cross glances. 

Deciding not to continue talking if she was going to be laughed at, Ruri turned her attention on to the meagre meal of beef, potatoes and carrots that had been placed in front of her. She took a bite of the meat. The taste wasn't all that bad by ordinary standards, but she'd become accustomed to Miss Howmei's excellent cooking over the past year, so found it a little bland.Another change in her life which she'd have to get used to.

She finished her meal in silence, not even making eye contact with anyone else. They'd lost interest in her now and had resumed their normal conversation. After finishing the meal, the children were herded into the games room. Most of the children instantly crowded around the television to watch an anime show, while others gathered around a table to play some kind of card game. Ruri felt a little out of place, but nevertheless walked into the room and seated herself on the floor near the television. She recognised the show – it was that one in which Megumi had voice-acted, Princess Lychee or something. Though it was pretty poor in the storyline stakes, Ruri found it strangely comforting to hear a familiar voice, although it was acting as someone else entirely. 

"Hey it's Space-Girl!"

Looking around, Ruri saw that purple-haired girl from earlier, this time flanked by three others of a similar age, two boys and a girl. She stood up and faced them all, her expression typically blank.

"You're right Mikoto. She's well weird!" said the new girl to the purple-haired girl.

"Man, what's wrong with your skin?" asked one of the boys, a stocky lad with very short black hair. "Did they drain all of the blood out of your body or something?"

The other children responded with giggles. Ruri merely stood regarding him. "Of course not. The human body needs blood to function. Like I told your friend earlier, my pale skin tone is due to…"

She was cut off by a brutal laugh. "Ha! Listen to her! She's a bloody robot!" continued the boy.

"I told you so, Leon!" said Mikoto. "And _I_ have to share a room with her! Can you believe that?!"

"You'd better be careful Mik," laughed the other girl. "She may kill you in the night!"

"Ew! Don't say that!" Mikoto shuddered. 

This was idiotic. They were accusing her of murderous intent based merely on her appearance. "I would never kill an innocent person on purpose," she stated.

"Oh sure! That's what she says to throw you off guard!" continued the boy called Leon. "She's an alien you know, Mikoto. She'll take you back to her home planet!"

Ruri wasn't sure what disgusted her more, his rudeness or the irrationality of his statements, but she wasn't about to stay around for any more of either. Breaking off her gaze, she walked slowly past the small group with the intention of returning to her room.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" asked Leon.

"To my room," she replied quietly.

Within a second of speaking, she found herself face down on the floor. She'd managed to break her fall with her hands, but her foot hurt from where Leon had caught it with his own and caused her to trip. She casually picked herself up to the sound of cruel laughter, trying to salvage what little dignity she had left. 

"Having trouble, robot?" Leon sniggered.

Ruri dusted herself off and faced him. "Why do you get so much pleasure from making other people's lives a misery?" she demanded, her tone more forceful now.

For no discernable reason other than spite, the group began to laugh at her again. "Just listen to her! She's definitely from another planet!" laughed that obnoxious Leon kid. 

Exhaling despairingly, Ruri turned and slowly walked from the room, not so much as glancing back at them. A whole mixture of unfamiliar feelings were flowing through and she needed time alone to analyse them. With any luck, she'd be able to steal a couple of hours alone in her room, away from these immature bullies. 

***

_"Why am I here?"_

Her first night in a different bedroom, Ruri lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling, troubling thoughts occupying her mind. The events of this day had left her feeling confused, anxious and very much alone.

She didn't belong here, she'd seen enough evidence from today to prove that. She cursed her own ignorance at not anticipating this situation while she was still on the Nadesico.

"_What did you expect to happen?_"

She didn't have an answer to that. Somehow, she'd avoided thinking about the future and had expected things to naturally work out when the war was over. She had never allowed herself to imagine this bleak scenario. Was this what she'd fought for a year for? To become a lonely, forgotten orphan? To completely leave the best times of her life behind? 

It was amazing how little time had passed. Only yesterday lunch-time, she'd been sitting at her post on the Nadesico doing her job, and now, less than thirty-five hours later, she was, well, here. Yet, it felt as if her time on the Nadesico had occurred years ago. She already found herself missing the rest of the crew. She longed to see a familiar face, to see the reassuring smiles of Minato, Yurika or Akito. Gosh, even seeing Erina's face would have been comforting at the moment. She just wanted to see something which she knew, to prove that her life aboard the Nadesico hadn't been just a dream. 

She looked up at her fish mobile, which she'd hung over the foot of her bed. For now that would have to be enough. 

Inevitably her thoughts strayed to the people she now lived with. Miss Nishida had seemed a nice enough person and had made an effort to make her feel at home, which she guessed she should appreciate. The other children had been another matter completely though. They'd been rude at best, downright malicious at worst. It wasn't just their distaste that bothered her, it was the way they made her doubt her own humanity. She knew what she was – an artificial genius, instilled with knowledge at the cost of emotion. An unnatural creation, but still human scientifically. But humanity can be defined on many levels and after seeing the reactions of the children today, Ruri was beginning to wonder if she truly was little more than a walking computer. 

She turned her head on to its side to look at her roommates. Both had been asleep for hours now. Mikoto was in the bed closest to her, murmuring to herself in her sleep, while Tina, a girl with short blue hair with whom Ruri hadn't talked yet, occupied the bed next to the far wall.Ruri envied their peace of mind which allowed them to sleep so soundly. 

Turning on her side to face away from them, Ruri closed her eyes and hoped sleep would come. Minato had told her once that problems always seemed much worse in the night. She knew that was probably true and the best thing to do was to get her head down and try to get to sleep. A good few hour's slumber would make everything seem better tomorrow. Or at least, would grant her some time away from the painful thoughts that haunted her mind. 


	5. Five

****

Five 

"Hey zombie, wake up!" 

The shout woke her up and her first instincts were that the Nadesico was under attack and she'd be needed on the bridge. Then gradually she realised that she was no longer aboard a spaceship and the chances of a Jovian attack here were highly unlikely. The initial relief was surpassed by the disappointment of realising that coming to this orphanage hadn't been just a bad dream.

Pale light came into the room through a slit in the curtains, but the room was still dim and Ruri could only just see the shape of Mikoto darting around the room, picking things up. She sat up and watched her.

"Miss Nishida told me to wake you up," Mikoto stated. "You'll be late if you don't hurry,"

"Late?" Ruri asked. "For what?"

Mikoto threw back her spiteful glare. "What do you think? _School_ of course!"

"School?" Of course, how hadn't she foreseen this? All normal children between the ages of five and eighteen were required to attend school. She'd read that in Omoikane's files. She'd never dreamed of being among their ranks, but now that she was no longer aboard the Nadesico, she could not count herself as exempt anymore. But that was stupid, how an educational institution for children could teach her anything new when she'd already been instilled with more knowledge then any child had ever had? Yet she knew there was no way out. Since no-one seemed to believe her about her past, she would have to play along for now. 

"I have to go to school? Oh my God, how degrading."

***

Forty minutes later, Ruri found herself sitting behind a desk in a stuffy classroom. The situation wasn't entirely unfamiliar – indeed taught lessons had formed most of her early life. Of course back then, the class had been a lot smaller and she hadn't been made to wear this itchy uniform which didn't fit her well at all. She sighed intensely, very much glad that her friends from the Nadesico couldn't see her now.

Around her, the room was buzzing with conversation. It gradually faded as the bell sounded to signal the start of lessons. At the front of the room a large screen appeared, displaying the image of a balding, moustached man in a revolting brown suit.

"Good morning class," he said.

"_Good morning teacher_," came the bland reply.

"This morning we are going to start with some mathematics. We'll begin by trying some basic questions to review last week's work. Some are quite tricky, so don't worry if you don't get them all right. If you need help at any time, push the red button next to your console." 

Just as he'd finished speaking, the computer screen on Ruri's desk flashed to life, displaying a whole list of sums. Around her, children groaned but Ruri was glad for the chance to exercise her brain cells.

However, as it turned out it was less of an exercise then a formality. She'd expected the sums to be easy, but not _this_ easy. For crying out loud, this was basic multiplication! It was an insult to her intelligence, she could solve these in her sleep!

It took her all of five minutes to complete the exercise, no longer then it took to type in the answers. Once she'd answered the final question, a colourful cartoon figure in the corner of the screen started to jump up and down happily. 

_"Excellent! You got 100 percent!" _

There was little joy in that victory. It had been like using a sledge-hammer to swat a fly. Everyone else around her was still working, some of them looking bemused at the task, while a few were trying to sneak a glance at her answers. Looking over at the clock on the wall, Ruri saw that it was 9:08 am. She sighed again and leaned back in her chair. It was going to be a long day.

***

"I wish you'd tell me what you're up to! I can't believe how irrational you're being!"

Akatsuki laughed out loud. He always found it amusing when his secretary got stressed out. "You worry far too much, Erina!" he said, taking out two wine glasses out of the cabinet next to his desk. 

Erina stamped her heeled foot in frustration. "I can't believe you simply sent her away! It's not like we can just hire an identical replacement for her! Her knowledge was built up over a period of a decade and we don't _have_ that much time!"

"You should have more faith, Erina dear," said Akatsuki, pouring red wine into both glasses and handing one to her. "The child is only useful to us if she comes willingly. It's not like we can just kidnap her and force her to work on our ship." He sniggered at the thought. "I'm not about to put a prisoner in charge of the most powerful weapon in Earth's history!"

Keeping her stern expression, Erina calmed herself and forced patience into her voice. "I can see that. So where does sending her to an orphanage come into it?"

Akatsuki sat back in his seat behind his desk and motioned for Erina to do likewise. "This way we are seen to be kindly providing a life for our youngest crew-member. It also means we know where she is and can keep her under surveillance until she decides to come back to us." 

Erina sipped her wine nonchalantly. "You seem pretty confident. Why should she come back? You already told me she snubbed your offer." 

"She'll come back once she realises how unbearable her life has become. Miss Hoshino isn't well adapted to lead a normal girl's life, Erina. Her mind needs to be occupied, and she won't find the mental stimulus she requires living as an orphan in an isolated rural village. There's also the fact that she's far from her friends on the Nadesico now, and the Ruri I know won't make new friends easily!" He laughed unpleasantly.

"So eventually she'll become bored and lonely and her shabby surroundings will accelerate this depression. She'll turn soon Erina, she belongs here with us. She'll realise that and walk right back into her hands, grateful for the chance we're giving her!"

"That's clever," admitted Erina. "But there are three problems that I can see."

"Fire away," 

"Well firstly, she's probably seen through your little game by now. She's not stupid you know."

"So what?!" Akatsuki drained his glass. "Not much she can do about it now!"

"Secondly, what if she leaks confidential information? You told me that she knows about the Nergal Five."

"A minor concern, Erina. She's among civilians who won't believe or be interested in anything she has to say. In any case, she has no proof and the only people who'll take her opinion seriously are in detention now."

"And finally, what if she decides to run away from the orphanage, rather then coming back to us?"

"That would be a regrettable scenario," admitted Akatsuki. "In that case, we'd be forced to hunt down and eliminate her."

Erina's shock at this extremity was plain, so he justified himself quickly. "We can't have her wandering around without observation. Give her a computer and she could hack into Nergal and reveal our most secret plans to the world."

"I see." Erina still looked uneasy. "If she's not with us, she's against us and must be killed."

Akatsuki grinned slyly. "Hopefully it won't come to that. I'd hate to have the blood of such a cute girl on my hands!" 

"Clearly. And who would be our new computer operator in that scenario?"

"We'd find someone else. Sure they wouldn't be as qualified, but as long as they can do the job, we'd be fine. Anyway enough about that. On to other matters." Akatsuki sat forward. "Has Ryoko replied to our offer yet?"

"Yes, but she wasn't too flattered by it. In fact she told you to shove it up somewhere."

Akatsuki chuckled, "Well, I suppose we should have expected that from that hot-head. She'll be a great loss, but not an irreplaceable one."

"Do you think we should offer the position to one of the other Aestivalis pilots? Though they're not in Ryoko's league, both Hikaru and Izumi are both considerable skilled."

"No, we must find our pilots from elsewhere now," said Akatsuki, shaking his head thoughtfully. "If we keep trying to hire members of the old crew, they'll become suspicious and suspect our real intent."

"I see," replied Erina. "Sneaking around their backs again?"

"Precisely," Akatsuki refilled their glasses. "We need to keep the Nergal Five's development as secret as possible. If the UEAF get a whiff of it, things could get ugly. But have no fear Erina, everything's gone to plan so far." He smiled at his secretary and raised his glass. "Here's to the Nergal Five."

"And to Nergal," Erina added, clinking her glass with his and drinking. 

Akatsuki exhaled in satisfaction at the taste of good wine and inevitable future success. "Our future is bright, Erina. We'll be right on schedule, just as soon as a certain girl-brat comes to her senses."


	6. Six

****

Six

A single day of school had felt like a whole week of Nadesico life. For hours on end, she'd gone from one mind-numbing lesson to another and not once all day had her mind been challenged. The boredom had left Ruri's mind completely drained. It had been such a waste of her time and energy. Compared to today, that fifteen-hour shift on the bridge had been bliss. 

_"And I'll have to go through it all again tomorrow,"_ Ruri thought bitterly as she trudged up the path to the orphanage entrance. Around her, young children were playing in the garden, making the most of the sunny afternoon. Ruri, however, had no desire to be outside at the moment. Right now, all she wanted to do was sit alone in a dark room and read. It was four-thirty now, meaning she had three full hours to herself before supper – enough time to finish her book she reckoned. 

Wearily, she climbed the stairs and plodded over to her room. Even before she reached the door, she could hear excited voices inside. Her heart sank – she'd hoped to find it empty. Oh well, she'd just have to put up with the distraction. 

To her horror, the first thing she saw when she opened the door was Leon sitting on her bed, with _her_ computer on his lap. He was tapping the keys eagerly and was surrounded by a few others, including Mikoto, who were looking at the screen over his shoulder. Everyone glanced up as she entered. Leon's mocking gaze fell on her like a swarm of midges.

"Hey robot, what's your password?"

Last night's performance had been bad enough but stealing her property was surely going too far! Ruri strode into the room towards them with her eyebrows knit. "Excuse me, that laptop belongs to me," she stated firmly. 

Everyone laughed at her annoyance. "So? What are you going to do about it?" taunted Mikoto.

"I wonder if she has any good games on here?" murmured Leon, continuing to tap keys with his stubby fingers. 

Ruri let out a frustrated breath, then said, "There's nothing on there of any interest to you, and even if there was you couldn't access it without the password. So please, just give it back."

"Well, she's not going to give us the password, so let's guess," said Leon. He typed something in. "Hmm, it's not 'freak'. Let's try 'bug-eyed alien'."

Naturally, the other children found this hilarious. To Ruri this was just getting tiresome. "I said, please give it back," she restated, snatching at it. Two of the boys pushed her back while Leon leaned back, taking the computer out of reach.

"I'll give it back if you tell me the password," the short-haired boy said with an evil sneer.

She wasn't that gullible. "I don't find this very amusing," she stated flatly.

"How about you jump for it?" Leon stood and held the laptop tantalizingly over her head. He was a great deal taller then the pale girl and Ruri knew that he wouldn't allow her to get it, whether she tried or not. 

"I don't intend to humour you," said Ruri, weary of this little game. She took her book from her bedside table and crossed over to Mikoto's bed. She sat down on it and started reading without giving them another glance.

"Hey!" Mikoto shouted, suddenly indignant. "That's _my_ bed!"

"Well, I have little choice on the grounds that you're all sitting on my own bed. And since you seem to disregard the concept of ownership, you shouldn't really be so upset." Ruri's reply was not at all aggressive, merely a cool statement of facts. 

"Get off!" Mikoto surged over. "You'll give it freak germs!"

Ruri hopped off the other side of the bed before she could be pushed off. Mikoto glared at her with that flaming gaze of hers. Ruri responded with her own cold one. This staring battle between fire and ice continued for several silent seconds until Mikoto broke off. 

Ruri was at a bit of a loss of what to do next. Her only option seemed to be walk out of the room, leaving her laptop at the mercy of these bullies. But she was reluctant to do that, since her laptop was important to her and she didn't want them to damage it in her absence. So she just stood there regarding them. Their combined stare faced back at her.

"What you gonna do now freak?" jeered Leon. 

Ruri wasn't at all sure, but in any case before she could reply, one of the other boys looked at his watch and slapped Leon on the shoulder.

"Hey, Gekiganger's on!"

Ruri nearly choked in disbelief. How far would she have to go before she could escape that show's poorly animated clutches? Ironically though, it was doing her a favour this time, since the group all stood and made for the door. Mikoto gave her another devil-glance before leaving the room. Leon was the last to leave as he still held Ruri's laptop. He looked down at it in his hands, as if unsure what to do with it. Finally, he reached a decision and snapped its lid shut. 

"Hey robot! Catch!"

Ruri gasped as she realised his intention. He _wouldn't_, surely? Yes, he would. Swinging his arms, Leon hurled the laptop into the air in her direction. Ruri backed off and spread her arms, as it arched down towards her. She just managed to catch it, but the momentum caused her to fall backwards. She exhaled in pain as she hit the floor hard. It took a few moments to recover from the sudden blow, but she managed to stand up again in time to hear Leon's mocking laughter echoing down the landing.

Ruri clutched the laptop to her chest and sighed in exasperation, for the umpteenth time since yesterday. What on earth was she doing here? She didn't belong here at all. 

Fortunately her laptop was undamaged – her back had taken all the landing impact. But her pride and confidence had taken a dent. It really did disturb her, this persistent harassment. What really bothered her was the fact she couldn't see why they were doing it. To her knowledge she hadn't done anything to offend them. Perhaps their discrimination simply stemmed from the fact that she was so different to them. But that was no reason to hate her! Sure, she was different, but did that make her a freak?

Perhaps she'd been luckier on the Nadesico then she'd first thought. On that ship, people knew what friendship was and how to treat each other properly. Sure, there were always arguments and fights, but never any real malice. Not like here. Subconsciously, she went over to her closet and opened it so that she could look up at her Nergal uniform. Her white shirt and orange sleeveless top were hung up next to each other and her black skirt was folded up underneath them. She sighed with longing. Already she was finding this new life away from the Nadesico hard to deal with. 

As she looked up with longing at her old uniform, she noticed that something was in the shirt pocket. Curious, she took it out and realised it was Akatsuki's business card, where she'd left it on the night he'd offered her that job. She held it between finger and thumb, reading the information on it. This small, seemingly insignificant piece of card represented another path. Escape from this nightmare. With a simple call, she'd be back aboard a gunship, doing what she was best at. Admittedly, it wouldn't be the same as on the Nadesico, but it couldn't fail to be more enjoyable then her current situation, surely.

Then she heard the noises of children playing outside and remembered the other implications of Akatsuki's offer. She would be returning to the fighting, only this time as Akatsuki's pawn. Tearing down the peace between Earth and Jupiter and killing scores upon scores of people, most of whom couldn't fight back. Slaughtering innocent children, like those playing outside now. It would no longer be fighting for justice, it would be simple cold-blooded murder, all for the ambitions of one man. She'd be a butcher, drenched with the blood of the weak, disregarding the very ideals that Captain Misumaru had instilled in her. No, she wouldn't, she _couldn't_ go running back to Akatsuki just because it was the easy thing to do. 

"What's that?" demanded Mikoto, shocking her out of her trance. Ruri hadn't heard her come back into the room. Her tone was still fierce, but Ruri detected a slight trace of genuine curiosity behind it as well.

"Nothing at all," she replied, crushing the card in her palm and throwing it at the waste-paper basket by the door. It hit the rim and fell on to the floor, so Mikoto picked it up and pulled it back into shape. 

"Who the hell's Nagure Akatsuki?" she inquired, reading the name off it. 

Old friend? Old enemy? "Old colleague," she settled for in the end.

"Huh. Whatever," murmured Mikoto, dropping it into the bin and leaving the room again, a magazine tucked under one arm. That had been the most pleasant conversation between the two of them so far, Ruri noted with a dry smile. Only due to the absence of direct insults though. 

Well, now that she finally had the room to herself again, she could finally have a moment's peace. That simple pleasure was the best thing this life could offer in her eyes. After remaking her bed to remove the creases which the other children had made, she lay down with H.G. Wells' classic and prepared to find out whether humanity could overcome the Martian menace that threatened their survival. Before she sunk into her fantasy world, she spared a thought for her crewmates, wondering how they were dealing with their imposed fate. Like her, they were probably finding it difficult to settle in to their new situation, she guessed. Which was better – lonely freedom or captivity with friends? She knew which one she'd have chosen, but in her case, the coin had landed on the wrong side.


	7. Seven

****

A/N - Well, we've seen what's happening in Ruri's life. In this chapter we'll see how the rest of the crew are doing! Enjoy!

Seven

"_You get to burning! Be yourself, be proud and face them head on! The days you spend running after your dreams make up…" _

"Seiya, please!" Jun practically screamed. "It's bad enough having to share a cell with you without you singing!"

"Hey I'm a damn good singer!" The tuneless voice from the bathroom continued its tortuous performance. _"You get to burning!"_

"I swear I'm on the edge of cracking. I just can't take it any more!" wailed the former second-in-command of the Nadesico. 

"Calm down Jun," Akito was lying on his bunk staring at the ceiling. "We're only in here for another eighty-one days,"

"Eighty-one days," Jun's head hit the surface of the table with a 'thunk'. "Sheesh, how do we get into these situations?"

Only three days of their sentence had passed and already the day of their return seemed like a distant memory. After they'd assembled in the hanger, it had taken two full hours for the register to be taken, including the time required to hunt down missing crew-members. Once that had been completed, their sentence had been announced – eighty-four days detention. For just under three months, they were to be prisoners of the UEAF. After the predictable commotion had died down, they'd been filed into the detention centre, split up and put into these cells. Since then, they had not been allowed to contact their fellow crewmembers and had only been allowed outside of the cells once a day, every morning, to exercise in the yard. Naturally, it was hard to take, but Akito was being philosophical about it.

"We've been in worse places Jun." he was saying. "At least this time we're not being shot at. And three months isn't so long."

Jun brought his head back up again, his abrupt panic attack over. "That's unusually optimistic for you, Tenkawa."

Akito shrugged from his lying position. "Life's not really that bad." 

"Of course," said Jun bitterly. "It's all right for you. You've got a new life with Yurika to look forward to once you get out of here."

Akito ignored the resentment in his tone, his mind wandering on to his girl-friend. "It's kind of ironic when you think about it," he said, a slight smile forming on the edges of his mouth. "When I wanted her to leave me alone, she was always chasing me around. But now that I want to be with her, there's no way I can see her."

Jun didn't smile. "Well now you know how I've felt for the past year!"

Akito ignored that comment as well. "Guess that's the way of life, that we've just got to accept our pasts and keep looking forward to the future, no matter what the present's like." He paused, then asked, "So what are you going to do when you get out of here Jun?"

"Oh I don't know," Jun replied dismissively. "Go back to the academy I guess. Now that I've got actual battle experience it should be easier to pick up a decent qualification. Then I'll be made captain of my own gunship with any luck."

"Huh." Akito hadn't expected this answer. He sat up so that he could look at Jun directly. "You really want to go back to the fighting?"

"No, it isn't the fighting and killing I want." Jun's expression was suddenly serious. "I guess I'm looking for a place where I fit in, doing something that I'm good at. It's calling me, if you see what I mean. I think this is the path I'm meant to take." He rested his hands on the table, interlocking his fingers. "Does that sound stupid to you Tenkawa?"

"No. No, not at all. I think I know what you mean. It's kind of like when I had to be a pilot, but really all I wanted to be was a chef." 

"Yeah," said Jun. He leaned back far in his chair, so that he was facing the ceiling. "My whole life in the past year has revolved around two things – Yurika and the fight for peace. Now both those chapters are closed, so I have to find something else."

"Yeah, I see what you mean. I guess a big part of our lives has finished now." Akito rolled his head over to look at the young man in the chair. "I hope you find what you're looking for."

"Thanks Tenkawa."

Just then, Seiya burst into the room, destroying the seriousness of the moment. His hair was still wet from the shower and the steam had caused his glasses to mist up.

"Yeah! I'm freshly showered and ready to _roll_! Lock up your daughters, Seiya's back in town!"

"Give it a rest Seiya," muttered Jun. "The only girls you'll be seeing are those models of yours."

"Better then nothing, Aoi!" replied the expert mechanic, moving over to the overturned wooden box, which served as his modelling table. 

"So what are you working on now?" sighed Akito, more to make conversation rather than out of any real interest. 

"This little beauty!" Seiya held up a small, half-painted figurine. Closer inspection revealed it to be a somewhat, well, _overdeveloped_ Yukina wearing a playful smile and a skimpy bikini.

"What?!" he asked upon receiving their despairing stares.

"You need help Uribatake," murmured Jun flatly.

"Hey if you don't like my tastes, take a hike!" Seiya went back to painting without giving them another glance.

Akito just sighed. "I wonder how the others are doing at the moment." It wasn't the first time he'd stated that thought in the past few days.

"Not dissimilar to us, I reckon," replied Jun, thumbing through the copy of '_UEAF Detention Rules and Conditions_' which had been provided for them. "I read in here that the common practise is to put detained crewmembers into groups of two or three of the same gender."

"I wish we could contact them," sighed Akito. "I mean, it's been three days since we last saw them. I hope they're okay."

"We'll find out soon if we're lucky, Tenkawa," said Jun, holding up the book. "It says in here that well-behaved inmates will have their privileges increased."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, at the moment we're under maximum security. But if we don't do anything stupid, we may eventually be allowed to contact our other crew-members whenever we like using the facility's internal communication system. Later on we may be able to actually see them in person at certain times. And if we're really good, we may even have our sentence reduced altogether." 

"That would be great," said Akito. "So basically, to get that all we have to do is stay out of trouble,"

"Well yeah." 

"Let's just hope that everyone else realises that too," murmured Seiya, not looking up from his work. "It would be just typical for some our idiot crewmates to get into a fight and ruin things for everyone."

"Yeah, that could be a problem," admitted Akito. "But I guess all we can do if sit tight and hope," 

"Yeah," said Jun, closing the book with a sign. Suddenly, he gave a nonchalant smile. "Could be worse I guess," he said. "We could be sharing a cell with Izumi!"

"Oh man," Akito gasped at the thought. "Ryoko's going to kill her, isn't she?"

***

"I swear if you touch that ukulele, I'm gonna smash your head in with it!"

Confinement wasn't suiting Ryoko too well.

Predictably, Izumi found this amusing. Winding up Ryoko seemed to be the only way to beat the boredom. With an inane grin, she strummed a tuneless note. 

"Right that's it!" Ryoko surged towards the dark-haired Aestivalis pilot, who was sitting on the top bunk.

"Hey calm down Ryoko!" Hikaru tossed her sketch-book to one side and stood to bar Ryoko's way. She was nearly swatted aside as Ryoko raged forward.

"Part fools!" whispered Izumi. "Put up your swords, you know not what you do!" She strummed again to conclude her sentence.

"Why you!" Ryoko shoved past Hikaru and made a grab at her, but Izumi had rolled out of reach, giggling like a loon. 

"Ryoko!" Hikaru protested, placing a hand on her shoulder. "What have we become if we're going to fight amongst ourselves?!"

Exerting the little self control she had, Ryoko sat back down with an exasperated grunt. "Don't give me that Gekiganger crap,"

"Come on, lighten up!" said Hikaru, cheerful all of a sudden. "I know you don't want to be here, but look on the bright side! Three months in here will give me enough time to draw a whole manga series!"

"Great," murmured Ryoko. "And here was I thinking that being here was just a waste of time."

Quickly seeing that their team leader was in no mood to be cheered up, Hikaru returned to her frantic scribbling. Ryoko picked up a book which Akito had leant to her last week. Izumi, on the other hand, stayed lying on her bed, staring into space and strumming her instrument at annoyingly irregular intervals. 

Temporarily breaking out of her creative trance, Hikaru remembered something she'd meant to ask earlier and spoke up.

"Hey Ryoko, that message you received this morning. Who was it from?" 

"Must have been a Cell phone message," That pun was truly appalling, even by Izumi's standards. 

"It was from that damn Nergal playboy," Ryoko replied, spiting into the corner of the cell as if to clear the mention of Akatsuki from her mouth. "He wanted to recruit me for some new Nergal Aestivalis fleet."

"Wow! What did you tell him?"

"I told him he could shove his damn offer up his ass! The day I work for that creep, Satan will go to work in a bobsleigh,"

"Good for you!" cheered Hikaru. "You show that loser who's the boss!"

"The loser who's the boss? Wasn't that the captain?"

"Shut up, Izumi! Just _shut up!_"

***

"Well, I guess these cells are not really luxurious, but at least they're spacious!" said Yurika, a little too optimistically for Megumi's liking. The former communications officer had been the unlucky one stuck with the captain for the next three months. Though the days of their rivalry over Akito were long over, they were hardly the best of friends and in any case, Yurika's chirpiness was hard to take for even a short while. Three months together was likely to drive her into madness. 

The purple-haired woman hadn't been very talkative at all over the past few days. She was finding this detention a little hard to take in truth. Like everyone else, she wanted to get out and start her new life as soon as possible. At the moment she felt just like she had when they'd left the Nadesico after Akatsuki's betrayal, with the whole crew separated and unable to communicate with each other. Only this time, they didn't even have their basic freedom. Perhaps it was a little negative to look at it that way, since this time they were coming back after a job well done, but when you're sharing a cell with Yurika Misumaru, it's hard to look on the bright side. 

"Megumi?" Yurika's face suddenly appeared in front of her. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," sighed Megumi. "Just feeling a bit depressed, that's all."

"Depressed? Why's that, because we're locked up in here?" 

Of _course_ that was the reason! Megumi tried to stop her irritation from turning into anger. "Yes that's right," she replied, as calmly as she could muster.

"Well no need to worry! We'll be out of here soon enough, and when we are things will be alright again!"

"_Soon enough for you maybe. You don't have to listen to yourself." _Megumi murmured in her mind. She wisely kept her mouth shut and simply nodded Assuming that the problem was solved for now, Yurika smiled and wandered over to the small window of their cell.

"I really hope Akito's doing alright without me," Yurika said, looking out to the inaccessible world beyond.

_"Now she's started on Akito. Argh, I hate my life!" _Megumi burrowed her face in her hands and prayed for the strength to stop herself killing her former captain before the three months were up. Why on earth hadn't she been put with someone less annoying?! Even Ruri would've been a better cellmate – sure there wouldn't be much conversation but at least she'd have some peace. Minato would have been the best companion in this situation, she decided. On that though, she wondered how their helmswoman was faring at the moment. Better then she was, surely. 

***

"I'm bored," moaned Yukina. Ever since they'd been locked up, she'd done nothing more than sit in the corner and sulk.

Minato, who'd been in the middle of a crossword, looked over to her and delivered her dazzling smile. "Things could be a lot worse!"

"I don't see how," Yukina's head sunk further down.

"We could have been imprisoned for years for what we did. When you look at it that way, three months isn't so bad! And it's not like we've all been separated and locked up with strangers."

"I suppose," grumbled the Jovian girl.

"If you like we could talk a bit," said Minato, leaning back and stretching. 

"About what?"

"Well, I don't know. How do you think everyone else is coping with detention?" 

"I wouldn't know. I don't know them as well as you do," said Yukina, a little darkly. "How do _you_ think they're doing?"

"Well," Minato placed a finger on her generous lips thoughtfully. "I suppose they're all bored and feeling a bit low. I imagine Ryoko won't be taking it well and Yurika will be pining desperately for Akito." 

"Huh. No change there then."

"Right! But other then that they'll probably be doing fine. Though I suppose I'm a little worried about Ruri. I hope the others are looking after her."

Yukina scowled. "Ruri, Ruri, Ruri! That's all I ever hear about!"

That accusation was a little harsh, but Minato just smiled at it. "You're not jealous of Ruri are you?"

Yukina's scowl darkened to a full frown. "Why would I be jealous of _her_?"

Minato's grin didn't falter. "You tell me!" She placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin on the backs of her hands. 

The redhead from Jupiter lowered her head. "Well maybe I am, just a little," she said. 

"And why's that?"

Yukina raised her head, just a fraction. "She's two years younger than me but she can control a whole battleship. And everyone thinks she's so cute." 

"Well, she is cute, but you shouldn't be jealous because of that! You're just as cute and sweet as she is!"

"You're just saying that."

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it! In any case, I'd say she has more reason to be jealous of you. You have one thing that she may never have."

"What's that?" asked the Jovian girl, tilting her head curiously. 

Minato's tone became somewhat mournful as she said, "Real human feelings."

"What?" Yukina was genuinely surprised by this response. "Are you saying she doesn't have feelings?"

"Well, she has a grasp of them, but her logical mind confuses her emotions. Until she learns to trust her real inner feelings over the logic which controls her now, she may never become totally human. I feel sorry for her." Her mouth perked up a little as she looked over to Yukina again. "You shouldn't take your humanity for granted. I'm sure Ruri would give a lot to see the world as you do."

"Well maybe," murmured Yukina, looking away from her. She always considered Minato's opinions seriously. It was her views on the world which made her such a mother figure to her. 

"Anyway since talking hasn't cheered us up why don't we exercise for a bit? That'll make us feel better!"

"Aw!" Yukina's frown returned. "Do we have to?"

"Come on, if we don't do anything we'll be out of shape by the time we have to leave and that wouldn't do, would it?"

Reluctantly Yukina hauled herself up and went into the bathroom to change. As she pushed the door open, she thought about what Minato had said. Sure, she was jealous of Ruri, but she knew she wouldn't swap places with her if she had the choice. But Ruri would probably look at it differently. Perhaps _she'd_ prefer to swap places with her, even if it meant giving up her superior mind. That was a strange thought and it made Yukina shudder. 

She made a mental note to spend some more time with the younger girl. Ever since she'd first seen her, Yukina hadn't understood Ruri at all, but maybe a little time in her company would remedy that. Chances were that Ruri would be interested to get inside Yukina's own head, to see what made a normal girl like her tick. Yes, a little time together would be good for both of them, Yukina decided. 

Of course, before that could happen they would have to be released by the UEAF. Yukina emitted a low moan at the thought of another eighty-one days behind bars. Sure, she was with a friend, but she was just so _bored _at the moment. Stupid Earthlings! Why'd they have to lock them up, just for saving the world?

In Yukina's eyes she was in a really terrible situation. But little did she know that Ruri would've given a whole lot to be in her place right now. 


	8. Eight

****

A/N – I finally saw the very first episode of Nadesico today, so to celebrate I'm putting up two chapters. Hope you like them. 

****

Eight

A week had passed since she'd arrived at Seven Oaks and Ruri already knew that this wasn't working out too well. Over the past few days, her initial uneasiness had descended into something of a depression.

She'd worked out the major cause of her unrest. It was simply the fact that she had so little to occupy her mind. As computer operator on the Nadesico, she'd always had _something_ to do, whether it was scanning the local area, operating the ship's weaponry or attending to a computer error. Back then she'd had the opposite problem – she'd barely enough time for eating, sleeping and leisure. But those days were over now and the situation reversed. Her mind yearned for stimulus and that wasn't being provided by the role of a schoolgirl.

She'd borrowed a couple of books from the school library, one on mathematics and the other on psychology, to satisfy her thirst for knowledge. They were complex, but very dated – the kind of books which fill libraries and no-one ever reads. She'd devoured the first within a couple of days, but the second proved to be more taxing. That was always the case with these psychology books – her mind operated very different to that of a normal human and so she'd found some of the concepts difficult to grasp. But that was good, she welcomed the challenge. 

Her books gave her temporary respite from the real world, but there was no avoiding it completely. The truth was she was finding life hard, and the attitude of her housemates hadn't made it any easier. Thankfully, they weren't bullying her quite so much anymore. Instead most of the time, they just ignored her, probably because she hadn't really reacted to their pranks. The two exceptions had been the two ring-leaders. Her obnoxious roommate, Mikoto, constantly went out of her way to make her life that little bit more unpleasant while Leon was never shy with the snide comments. Ruri always let their antics pass with little or no words, but their constant abuse had struck a dent in her self-esteem and left her soul a little sore. 

Over the past week, she'd tried hard not to think about her crew-mates, but that had been difficult with little else to divert her mind. In truth, she was missing them desperately, a lot more then she'd first thought she would. 

Against her better judgement, she'd decided to look through her small photo collection of her time aboard the Nadesico. Before now she'd forbidden herself to look at them, for fear that longing for the past would overwhelm her. Nostalgia could be both a curse and a blessing. But memories were all she had now. That was what she'd said to everyone to close a chapter of warfare on the Nadesico. Besides, by now she couldn't resist taking a peek.

She put the tiny box of photos on her lap and gingerly took them out, one by one. She'd not taken any of them herself, but other people had and given her copies, which meant that she featured in most of them. The first one she saw was that one of the whole crew, with Ruri sitting down at the front holding the Nadesico crest. Her other photos included one of Akito and Yurika hugging, one of her at her post, one of Seiya, Jun and her from the mechanic's unsuccessful Christmas party, one of everyone on the bridge, a couple of her singing at that beauty contest, one from that idiotic Gekiganger festival, another one of her at her post… 

Curiously, Ruri found herself smiling. So many memories. 

"_Those unforgettable days. For them I live_."

Her reminiscence was interrupted when Mikoto strode into the room, saw her and exhaled an exasperated sigh with her hands dramatically on her hips.

"I don't believe this! You're always up here! I feel like I can't come in this room anymore!"

"I'm sorry," said Ruri, putting her photos back into their box. "I enjoy the peace up here. But you shouldn't think that you can't come in just because I'm here."

As usual, her roommate didn't listen to her reasoning. "I wish you'd just go away!" she snapped. "We were all fine here until you came along."

"Look," stated Ruri, tired of repeating the same old facts again and again. "I'm really sorry if you don't like me, but there's nothing I can do about it. I was put here, so here is where I will stay, at least for now. Why can't you accept that?"

"Damn it, if you're going to speak at least speak properly!"

"I am speaking normally. Perhaps I speak a little differently to you, but that's just the way I do it,"

"Just shut up!" She gestured angrily at the door. "Why don't you go somewhere else?"

Ruri looked neutrally over towards the door, then back to Mikoto. "I don't really see why I should. This is my room too you know," 

"Hmph. Freak." As had become usual, Mikoto ended the exchange by wrinkling her petite nose and turning her back on her with a toss of her purple plaits. She looked a little like Megumi when she did that, Ruri thought. 

She put her little box of memories back into her bedside drawer and replaced it with her trusty laptop. As common computers went, it was relatively powerful but comparing it to Omoikane was like comparing a pea whistle to a clarinet. Ruri could deal with that, but what frustrated her was how she was unable to access the internet with it. Well, technically she could and had done so a few days ago by connecting it to the orphanage phone line. However, she'd barely loaded the Nadesico homepage before Mikoto had come in, seen what she was doing and immediately ratted her out to Miss Nishida. The manageress of the orphanage had told Ruri in gentle tones that using the phone line cost the orphanage money at a time when they were trying to cut back on spending. Pleading guilty, Ruri had assured her that it wouldn't happen again. That didn't stop her feeling miffed at how Mikoto had taken the chance to spite her. 

After that little experiment hadn't worked, she'd resorted to reading _lowly newspapers_ to learn about the world beyond this isolated village she now lived in. They'd been easily enough to obtain since Miss Nishida bought one every day. However, Ruri still found it a major nuisance – she much preferred to have her information on a screen. She found the actual paper too large and unwieldy to read properly. What's more, her news was always a day old, which Ruri found intolerable. 

In any case though, a week after the actual incident, the biggest news was still the end of the war. However, the story published by the papers was a mixture of fact and fiction. It stated that the Martian Computer had been removed, meaning that boson jumping of battleships couldn't occur, meaning that the war had automatically been brought to an end. Noticeably the commandeering of the Nadesico and its efforts in halting the war weren't mentioned. Neither was the destruction of the Kakistubata, for fairly obvious reasons. 

Many of the papers questioned the validity of the peace and how long it would be before war broke out again. Some of the more dismal articles suggested that what had begun now was a cold war and fighting would resume when sufficient technological advances had been implemented. Like Akatsuki's incredible battleship, Ruri thought with bitterness. 

After a bit of searching, she'd had managed to find a few articles about the Nadesico itself, though none of them were very informative. They simply stated that the Nadesico had returned to the Earth following the battle on Mars and that the crew had been detained, for publicly unknown reasons. She hadn't really expected to find out anything new, but it was still interesting to read about her old ship. 

But although the newspapers gave her a view of the world, she still wanted a proper information source. The papers only told her what the powers that be wanted the public to know. To obtain the information she wanted she would have to dig deeper, and that meant a little hacking was in order. In particular she wanted to snoop around Nergal's network – she'd had a certain sneaking suspicion of late and needed certain information to confirm it. Obviously, that wouldn't be possible without an internet link-up. And that was impossible without a phone-line.

Unless…

Ruri nearly threw her computer to one side in her eagerness to get up. How could she have been such an idiot!? She'd completely forgotten about her Nadesico communicator. She couldn't use it directly now that Omoikane was offline, but with a few alterations she could use it's transmitter to link up to a communications satellite. Yes, it would take a bit of effort, but she was sure she could do it!

There was no time to lose. She'd need some wiring, some kind of power source, probably some duct tape as well. Then she'd just need a bit of time to make a few technical alterations to link up her communicator with her laptop. It could be done and Ruri couldn't wait to get started.

***

She spent the rest of the day acquiring the components she needed for her little project. Fortunately, she was able to acquire most of them from a dusty, disused computer which she'd discovered in the cellar of the orphanage. She'd also found a toolbox in one of the store cupboards. Some of the more complex parts had been harder to find and it had taken her a good couple of hours to track down a hardware store in the village. Again she'd been lucky, since it provided her with everything else that she needed, despite being a relatively small shop. The old, balding man behind the counter had chuckled lightly as this strange little girl left his shop, carrying several pieces of complicated equipment normally only used by expert electricians.

The next day was a Sunday, which gave Ruri the time she needed to knuckle down and construct her new device. She spent the whole morning sitting on her bed surrounded by a moat of wiring, screws and other electrical components. She worked ceaselessly, tampering with one thing then discarding it and taking up another. Her eyes never blinked or looked away from her task, so great was her concentration. 

Her roommates didn't disturb her much, for a mercy. This morning Mikoto had made some half-hearted comment about how she was making a mess of the room by bringing in all this junk, but since then she'd disappeared. Tina, who never seemed to be around, didn't break her trend today. In fact, the greatest disturbance had been Miss Nishida. She'd called in firstly at mid-morning, to see what she was doing. Ruri hadn't wanted to divulge the full details and so had just said she was repairing her computer. The chief carer had suggested that she go outside with the others to get some fresh air and be sociable, rather then hiding up her alone with her gadgets. Ruri had replied that she intended to go outside later, just hoping to get the annoying woman to go away. Seeing it was the best she was going to get out of her, Miss Nishida had smiled at her and left. She did return a few hours later to call her for lunch. Ruri had been so engrossed in her work that she'd completely lost track of time.

By mid-afternoon, her efforts were yielding results. She'd attached her communicator to the windowsill in order to improve the reception. From it streamed a whole stream of colourful wires, which in turn were plugged into the computer via the makeshift adapter which she'd built. After another half-hour of tuning and testing, Ruri had eventually established a decent link-up to the internet. Despite herself, the pale girl had to smile in satisfaction at the fruits of her labour.

Not even pausing for a break, she delved in to her research. She didn't dare hack into Nergal just yet - since her connection was quite slow and fragile, there was a great risk of her being detected and traced. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out the identity of the intruder. However, she viewed some other information from legal sources. After an evening of investigation, she figured she'd found sufficient evidence to prove her conjecture. 

There was no doubt about it now. Akatsuki was manipulating her. Sending her to this orphanage was part of his sinister plan. 

_"He wants me to run back to him,"_

It made perfect sense. Akatsuki had created this situation she was in, hoping that this orphan's life would grind her down and she'd come back to Nergal, simply because it was the lesser of two evils. Ruri admired his cunning at forming this plan, but at the same time felt insulted that he'd assumed she wouldn't catch on to him sooner or later. 

_"Then again, in his eyes it doesn't matter whether I find him out or not. I can't go anywhere else now. My only way out is to take his offer."_

Well, he could forget that idea. She'd been defiant before, but this new information had given her an even stronger resolve to resist him. In that moment, sitting on her bed with her computer on her lap, she vowed never to join him, no matter how hard this life became. That was her duty, to herself, to her former crewmates and to the people of Jupiter. For all their sakes, she would be strong. 

****

A/N – I've deliberately not included the actual details of Ruri's findings. They'll be revealed in a later chapter. For now, just accept that Ruri has found enough evidence to prove that Akatsuki is trying to manipulate her.

****

I know that not that much has happened so far in this story, apart from Ruri becoming depressed and doing a lot of brooding. But don't worry, I know exactly where this fic's going. At the moment the scene's still being set, but there's a big twist coming up in a couple of chapter's time which will make things a bit more interesting. For now, enjoy chapter nine, in which Ruri makes an unexpected friend…


	9. Nine

****

Nine 

It was an understatement to say that Ruri wasn't feeling too thrilled with life as she sat on a bench waiting for the Shuttle-Train to come. Knowing that all this unpleasantness in her life was part of a Nergal scheme only served to amplify it. That idiot Akatsuki had once again proved his total disregard for the feelings and emotions of others. It was so like him to do something like this. Ruri wasn't even surprised by his inconsiderate actions anymore.

Still, this time it was her who would pay the price of them. That annoyed her, but there was little she could do about it. All she could do for now was bear it and see what the future brought. Regrettably, the only thing the future was bringing at the moment was her ride to school. 

The Shuttle-Train pulled into the station with a _whoosh_ and its automatic doors opened to the sounds of the conductor instructing people to board. Shouldering her schoolbag, Ruri walked over and got onto the packed carriage. This was a regular part of her routine now, catching this train every morning and evening to travel to the town in which her school was situated. It would take ten minutes to get there and then Ruri had a whole day of school to look forward to. 

As the train doors slid shut behind her, she sighed dejectedly. It occurred to her that she'd been doing that a lot lately.

***

Morning lessons came and went slowly and it was time for lunch. In complete contradiction to the common school-girl attitude, Ruri found the breaks more oppressive then the lessons. She didn't mind free-time if she'd earned it after doing something strenuous and purposeful, but lessons for an eleven-year old didn't fit into that category in her book. Besides, what was she supposed to do with a whole hour for lunch?

Like she'd done every day so far, she'd bought a pack of two sandwiches with a bottle of mineral water from the cafeteria and had made her way into the playing area behind the school so that she could eat them in the sunshine. She wasn't feeling hungry just yet and still had fifty minutes of her break remaining, so she decided to read a bit more of her book. It was getting exciting – Paul Atreides was just about to ride a sandworm for the first time. 

She'd barely sat down when she detected commotion in the centre of the playing area. A small ring of children had gathered around a few figures, who Ruri couldn't see from her position. Closing her book she walked over to get a better look. 

She recognised Mikoto in the centre, with three of the larger kids from the higher years. They'd taken her lunch money and were taunting her to jump for it, while the children surrounding them laughed at her feeble efforts. Ruri was shocked - she'd been under the impression that Mikoto had been too popular for this treatment. 

"Please!" Mikoto pleaded desperately. "I need that!" She jumped again, but still couldn't reach the note dangling from the older boy's hand. 

Her oppressor laughed. "Come on! You can do better than that!"

Mikoto made one last great effort and almost managed to touch it, but the bully yanked it higher at the last possible moment. The plaited girl lost her balance and ended up on her front, to the amusement of the surrounding rabble. 

It surprised Ruri to see Leon among this crowd of onlookers, laughing with the rest of them. She sidled over to him.

"Aren't you going to help her?" she asked. "I thought she was your friend,"

"Shut up robot!" Leon turned away from her and put his attention back on the show.

Ruri shook her head in despair and turned to leave. Just then, Mikoto burst from the ring, sobbing hysterically. Children's laughter followed her flight. Ruri watched her go, then looked back to the crowd once more. They were murmuring together and laughing nastily. She shook her head again.

"They're idiots," she murmured to herself. "All of them are idiots."

***

Mikoto felt absolutely pathetic. Image meant everything to her, being an eleven year-old girl, and this humiliation had left her self-esteem in ruins. Damn those bullies! They'd taken more from her today then just her lunch money. 

She sat alone in the corner of the playing area, out of sight of the general crowd, and sobbed pitifully to herself. She didn't know how she could ever face any of them again after what had happened. It just wasn't fair! She was meant to be one of the ones laughing at the side, not the one caught in the middle as the butt of the joke. That was meant to happen to other people! 

It just wasn't fair…

Just then, she sensed someone approaching her. She tried in vain to blink back her tears, so that she wouldn't appear weak and pathetic to whoever this was. Although she wasn't able to clear the dampness from her eyes, she looked up to face the newcomer anyway.

She'd expected Leon, or another of her crowd. But instead, it was that strange Ruri girl who stood before her, wearing that static neutral expression of hers. Perfect, just perfect! Had she come to gloat? That was the last thing she needed right now. 

Though her throat was choked up, she managed to force out some bitter words. "What do _you_ want?" 

Wordlessly, Ruri extended an arm to her, holding out a chicken sandwich. Seeing this stunned Mikoto into silence. Was she offering this to her? 

"Take it," urged Ruri when she saw her hesitate. "I don't want it,"

Pride and hunger battled inside of the purple-haired girl. After a few seconds, her stomach emerged victorious. With a trembling hand, she took the sandwich from Ruri. She opened it and examined the contents suspiciously, but there was nothing visibly wrong with it. Putting the bread back on, she looked up to Ruri again. That weird girl hadn't altered her expression all.

"Why?" she asked, her voice just a croak now. 

"If you don't eat now, you'll be hungry all afternoon," Ruri replied simply. 

"That's not what I meant," Mikoto replied, looking down at the delicious-looking sandwich in her hands. "Why are you giving this to me after I've been so mean to you?"

Ruri shrugged. "Well, I'm not going to eat it. Two sandwiches are too much for me and it would be very inefficient to just throw it away when you haven't had any lunch yet,"

"Oh," she peeped. Swallowing her pride (which by itself couldn't satisfy her hunger), she murmured, "Thank you,"

"You're welcome," replied Ruri with a slight bow. With that, she turned to walk away.

"Um, Ruri?"

"Yes?" Ruri stopped and half turned around.

"Um, you can sit here if you want," For a wonder, Mikoto's tone was actually shy.

Ruri turned around to face her again. "Okay," She slowly walked back over to her and sat down beside her against the wall. Mikoto, absolutely starving by now, sank her teeth into the gifted sandwich, while Ruri next to her unwrapped her own. They were silent a moment as they focused on their respective lunches. Surprisingly, it was Ruri who broke the silence. 

"Do they do that to you often?" She made it sound like a perfectly innocent question.

Mikoto hesitated, not really wanting to talk about it. But she did reply honestly in the end. "They do bully me sometimes. That's the first time they've actually stolen my money," She grimaced with hatred as she added, "Damn them all to hell!"

"Hmm," Ruri murmured. "Bullies can be a nuisance,"

It took Mikoto several seconds to see the hidden meaning in that, and when she did, she turned on Ruri indignantly. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean? Are you saying _I'm_ a bully?"

"Are you saying that you aren't?" Ruri's composed tone reinforced her accusation. "My definition of a bully is someone who uses their stronger position to worsen the life of another,"

"Hmph," Here came Mikoto's classic wrinkled nose face. "You don't know anything. What they do to me is much worse then what we do to you."

"Whatever," Her unconvinced reply was as calm as still water. 

Mikoto scowled darkly at her, appearing a bit like the Mikoto which Ruri had come to know. She took an angry bite of her sandwich, temporarily forgetting who had given it to her in the first place. Beside her Ruri nonchalantly ate her own, the very picture of serenity. It was as if she hadn't said anything at all. 

Now despite her appearance and actions, Mikoto was neither a stupid girl nor a completely heartless one. Ruri's words had cut deep into her mind and she wasn't able to discard them. She wished now that she could go back over to her own crowd and start talking and laughing with them, to distract herself, but her own mind was merciless. The undeniable truth was that she lashed out at others because of the torment in her own life. As it hurting someone else would ease her own pain. She'd picked on Ruri because she was new and different, and no child likes change. But she'd never considered the fact that the strange girl, for all her differences, was in the same boat as her. She too didn't have parents, she would share that same emptiness in her own life. Just like her, she was just a child, alone in a harsh world that had betrayed her.

In that moment, as she looked down at her sandwich in her hands, Mikoto's life took a real turning point as she realised that she wasn't the only one capable of being hurt. She bullied Ruri, just like those older kids bullied her. Except that she was worse because her victim didn't have any friends to lean on. 

With a sudden cry, she brought her head forward and buried her eyes in the palms of her hands. Ruri looked down at her curiously. 

"My God!" whimpered the purple-haired girl. "I'm a monster, aren't I?"

"Not really," said Ruri. "I just think you're a little confused."

Blinking several times to stifle the fresh tears, Mikoto murmured, "I've made things so hard for you haven't I?"

Ruri shrugged indifferently. "I've coped,"

"I've been so horrible," sobbed Mikoto, smearing tears across her face with her hands.

"No, you're not a horrible person," said Ruri. "I think you just bully me as a defence mechanism. You're not inherently evil." 

Mikoto did not reply, but bowed her head forward again, as if she hadn't even heard her. She began to sob again, although more lightly now. Ruri looked down to her, unsmiling. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to upset you." 

***

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah," said Mikoto, taking a slug of the soda which Ruri had bought for her. The pair had moved to the picnic tables just outside the cafeteria and now sat opposite each other at one of them. Only a few other children were still sitting around here, with most of the others being over in the playground now. Having eaten, the purple-haired girl had cheered up a little, though dried tears still rested on her cheeks. 

"It's stupid that you of all people should comfort me," Mikoto said, staring intently at the half-empty plastic bottle in her hand. 

"If people don't forgive, then they just keep fighting. And fighting only ever leads to yet more fighting," stated Ruri. "I've learned that from experience."

"Huh. Right." murmured Mikoto. She took another swig of soda, put it down on the table and suddenly brought her head up.

"Hey Ruri, how come you know so much?" she asked. 

"Huh?"

"You know what I mean. You're always going on and on with this philosophical tripe. And you always get full marks in every class. So how come you're so smart?"

Lowering her head, Ruri murmured, "I was created this way." 

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's like I told you the first night I was here. I was born and raised in a lab. For my entire life, I've been trained to be a crewmember of the Nadesico."

"Wait, you're not saying that's actually true, are you?"

"It is true," said Ruri. Mikoto eyed her dubiously, clearly still doubtful. Ruri wondered what it would take to convince her, then remembered something. 

"Here, look at this," She brought up her left hand and pulled down the sleeve of her uniform, revealing the metallic string of implants that ran along her arm. They shone brilliantly in the sunlight. 

"What the heck?!" Mikoto gasped, her blue eyes widening in amazement. "You, you have those implant things?"

Ruri nodded. "Yes. I needed the IFS in order to control the Nadesico."

"Wow," murmured Mikoto, her mouth hanging ajar in disbelief. "Wow, you really _were_ aboard a space-ship!" 

"Yes, I was," Ruri was glad they'd finally established that. 

"Oh wow," Mikoto repeated. "That's just unbelievable! You're like an astronaut!"

"Well, yes."

"But if you were on a space-ship, then what on earth are you doing here now?"

Ruri had asked herself the same question a million times over the past few weeks, but gave Mikoto the logical answer. "When the war ended, the Nadesico was decommissioned and the crew was disbanded. Being a little girl, there was nowhere for me to go." She didn't mention the fact that Akatsuki had offered her a chance to return to the stars. 

"What, so they just put you in an orphanage? Even though you used to be part of a space-ship crew?"

"Yes,"

"But what about your parents?"

"My parents," Ruri repeated. Oh, the deal with her parents was such a fiasco. She'd had three sets of parents and yet she'd never had a real mother and father. Her genetic parents were the king and queen of the neutral kingdom of Peaceland, whom she'd rejected a while back on the grounds that she didn't know them enough to feel any family connection, and that the Nadesico needed her more then they did. She'd also had foster parents, who'd both been employees of Nergal and set up her training as a crewmember. Finally, there was that image of a perfect mother and father congratulating her – their supposed daughter. That picture had permanently engraved itself in her mind and Ruri still felt a great emotional connection to it, despite the fact that those parents didn't actually exist. 

"I'd rather not talk about my parents," she said eventually.

"Oh right. I see," said Mikoto. "Not many kids at the orphanage talk about their parents. Most can't even remember them." She gave a slight shrug. "As for me, mine both died in an air crash when I was three."

Ruri couldn't think of how to react to that, but felt she should say something. "I'm sorry," she managed in the end. 

"Don't worry about it. I barely knew them really. I've been in the orphanage for as long as I can remember, so I've gotten used to it." Mikoto smoothed out her skirt. "So what was it like onboard the Nadesso?"

"Nadesico," Ruri corrected her. "It was hard-going, but in a welcome kind of way. No matter what challenge we faced, we faced it together as a crew and because of that we always had faith that we would triumph in the end."

"Aw, that must have been so cool! So you were all like really good friends then?" 

Ruri paused, then nodded slowly. "Yes. Yes we were."

"So where did they all go if you came here?"

"Well they were detained by the UEAF when we returned to Earth. They are paying the price for the extreme actions we carried out in order to end the war."

"That means they're in prison right?"

"Essentially, yes."

"Huh. That sucks."

"I suppose it does." Ruri murmured. "But there's nothing I can do about it."

"I guess not," said Mikoto. "Wow, you've lead such an interesting life," she continued. "I'm jealous. My life's been pretty boring."

"You shouldn't be jealous of me," muttered Ruri. "I would have dearly loved to have been a normal girl."

"Oh come on! You got to pilot a space-ship! That's like every kid's dream!"

"I'm sure it's over-rated. Besides, you have something which I can never have."

"What's that?"

Ruri bowed her head and lowered her lids, concealing her eyes. "I don't think you'd understand if I told you."

Just then, they heard the bell ring, signalling that five minutes remained before lessons began. Children from all around the playground swarmed back towards the school, including Leon, who stopped by their table. 

"Hey Mik, ditch the freak! You coming to class?"

"Just give me a second," Mikoto tipped the last of her soda down her throat and then hurled the empty bottle into a nearby trash-can. Gathering her things together, she stood up before Ruri.

"Look, thanks again for lunch," she said. 

"That's all right."

"So I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah, sure,"

"Okay, seeya!" Mikoto gave her a slight smile before walking off with Leon. Ruri watched them go before standing up herself and walking to her own class. That had been the first proper conversation she'd had with someone for a long time. It seemed as though she'd made a friend today, from a very unlikely source. But the source didn't matter, at the moment she'd take any friend she could get. 


	10. Ten

****

A/N – In this chapter things start to get moving. I apologise if Ruri seems a little OOC, but keep in mind that she's a little worked-up.

Ten

"Ruri? Are you in here?" Miss Nishida walked into the games room and saw the young girl sitting on the sofa with her laptop. "Ah there you are!" she said with a smile. 

The interruption was almost welcome. Ruri had been playing chess against her computer and was currently fighting a losing battle, thanks to an earlier school-girl error. 

"What is it, Miss Nishida?" she asked, looking up at her with those large golden eyes. 

The elderly woman beamed down at her. "You have a visitor!"

"A visitor?" said Ruri, her eyes widening incredulously. 

"Yes, someone's waiting in the hall for you. Come on!" Miss Nishida motioned her up.

Ruri shut her laptop and tucked it under her arm, before standing and following the head of the orphanage to the hallway. Her mind was buzzing at this sudden news. Who would possibly want to visit her? Maybe it was one of her Nadesico crewmates? Her heart leapt at the thought that Yurika, Akito or Minato might be standing in this very building! Had they been released and come back for her?

Her hopes were soon torn apart when she entered the hallway and saw the figure standing there. It was one of her old crewmates, but hardly the one she'd hoped for.

"Hi there, Ruri," said Nagure Akatsuki wearing his permanent smug grin. "Long time, no see," 

"Hello, Mr Akatsuki," murmured Ruri half-heartedly. She tried to make her tone polite, despite the disappointment that was pouring over her. 

Akatsuki looked over to Miss Nishida. "Is there anywhere we can talk in private?"

"Yes, we can go to my room." Ruri said before Miss Nishida could reply. 

"Very well," said Akatsuki with a nod. "Lead the way."

Ruri lead the Nergal chairman upstairs and across the landing to her room. She held the door open for him, with mocking courtesy. She then walked in after him, closing the door behind her and crossing over to sit on her bed. Akatsuki looked around for a few moments, but after seeing there were no chairs, settled for sitting on Mikoto's bed opposite Ruri. 

"So what are you doing here, Mr Akatsuki?" she asked, regarding him with a hard gaze.

Akatsuki spread his arms. "Well, I was in the area on business and I thought I'd pay a visit to my favourite young computer expert to see how she was doing!"

"Are you sure this isn't a recruitment drive?"

Akatsuki chuckled lightly. "Well, you're still as suspicious as ever I see."

"You'll forgive me if I don't trust a single thing you do anymore." 

He let that pass. "As a matter of fact, I did want to run it by you again. I didn't want you to feel as if your opportunity had passed, so I felt a visit was in order. We still want you with us Ruri dear."

Ruri narrowed her colossal eyes. "Once again I thank you for your offer, but I thought I'd made my stance completely clear the last time we met."

Akatsuki wasn't the least bit fazed. "I figured you'd have changed your mind by now, having thought it over." 

"There's nothing to think over, Mr Akatsuki," replied Ruri, injecting more force into her voice. "You're intending to slaughter countless innocents for your own ambitions." She shook her head defiantly. "I won't be an instrument to that."

"Oh come now Ruri, the time for foolish martyrdom is past! Look around you!" He gestured around at the room in which they were sitting. "Do you really fit in here? Do you really want to live like this for the rest of your childhood?"

Ruri kept her cool gaze locked on him. "It's not about what I want, Mr Akatsuki. I won't become a bullet in your gun, just because my life's not ideal. This is my final answer Mr Akatsuki. I will never change my mind, not for anything or anyone."

For the first time, Akatsuki showed some aggravation, his mouth becoming a thin line and creases appearing on his forehead. His tone was still as calm and collected as ever though. 

"I think you're just being stubborn for the sake of it, Miss Hoshino. I know you're don't like me, perhaps with good cause. But don't defy me just because of that. Think logically. That's what you're best at right? Are you really snubbing a well-paid job, which suits you perfectly, to be an orphan in this run-down orphanage? Well? Are you?" 

"I know what you're trying to do to me!" Ruri suddenly burst out. "You've planned this all along!"

Akatsuki faltered slightly, "Whatever do you mean Ruri?"

"Let me show you," She opened her computer on her lap and started tapping keys rapidly. She didn't look up from her typing when she spoke to him again. "Since it's not like Nergal to care for its employees, I was suspicious when you set up a home for me, especially one in an isolated rural location, yet within striking distance of Hiratsuka.

"I did a bit of research and found out that there were four reputable orphanages in Hiratsuka itself and many more in the surrounding area that were closer than this one. Naturally I began to wonder why you'd singled out this particular facility. 

"I found two main reasons. Firstly, the distance from Hiratsuka - you wanted me close enough to be surveyed, yet far enough so that I couldn't communicate with my former crewmates or interfere directly with your schemes. 

"I found the second reason even more perverse," Ruri turned and tapped a few more keys on her laptop, then turned it around so that Akatsuki could see the screen, on which a long list was displayed. 

"I found details of a government orphanage assessment, conducted last year, on the internet. It can be clearly seen that the better orphanages, when considering space, funding, amenities and staff per orphan, are all located in Hiratsuka. If we look for Seven Oaks Orphanage we can see that it's here." Ruri pointed to its position on the screen and turned to face Akatsuki. "Out of twenty-three orphanages surveyed, it came third from bottom in the quality table. The implications are pretty clear. You wanted me to make things hard for me here so that I'd come running back to you and your battleship. Am I right?"

Akatsuki was silent for a moment, his expression not revealing anything. However, though his exterior was unruffled for the most part, Ruri noticed his slender fingers were fidgeting, as if each one was fighting against the others. That was a real giveaway, especially coming from Akatsuki, who never betrayed a shred of nervousness under normal conditions. She must have singled out the precise details of his plan to provoke such a reaction in him. Despite his instinctive finger work, his voice was still composed when it came.

"Well Ruri dear, you've gone a long way to dig up some dirt! A good effort I admit, but you're only seeing what you want to see. You're far too suspicious, my dear. We selected this orphanage because we felt you would prefer a quiet village environment to a crowded city."

No-one had ever seen anger in Ruri's eyes, but Akatsuki was seeing it now. Her fists were clenched in balls by her sides and she kept her voice low and deadly as she spoke.

"Don't play games with me Mr Akatsuki. I've seen your evil and I will _never_ work for you. Please Mr Akatsuki, do me a favour and _get out of my life!_"

Akatsuki was silent for a moment, his face grim as Ruri gaze bombarded him with flaming ice. He appeared stricken by the insult and this previously unseen side of Ruri. He held his silence for several seconds, then slowly folded his arms and regarded her with harsh solemnity, like an angry father whose daughter had displeased him. 

"So be it. Just don't forget that your fate was self-imposed." 

With that final statement, he slowly rose and turned his back on Ruri as he strode out of the room. The jerkiness of his walk showed his deep frustration clearly. He nearly collided with Mikoto as he went through the door and seemed on the verge of throwing her aside, before merely dismissing her with a fuming glare. The small girl watched him with wide eyes as he disappeared into the corridor.

"So who was that?" she asked, turning to Ruri now.

"That was Nagure Akatsuki." Ruri stated flatly. "The Chairman of Nergal."

"No way!" Mikoto exclaimed, looking back to where Akatsuki had just been. "It can't be!"

"He is the Chairman of Nergal." Ruri insisted. "It surprised us too when we found out for the first time." 

"But what did he want with you?" Mikoto asked. 

"He was offering me a job,"

"A job? Did you take it?"

"No,"

"But why on earth not?"

Ruri lowered her eyelids. "For more reasons then I care to mention."

***

It hadn't taken long for Erina to work out that Akatsuki's meeting with the former computer operator of the Nadesico hadn't been successful. He'd only grunted a greeting as he'd walked back into his office and hadn't spoken to her since. That was never a good sign from him – he'd had the demeanour that came from only the worst possible outcomes. 

Because of that it came as a surprise when Akatsuki sent for her just a few minutes later. Erina was on her guard as she entered her employer's office. It wasn't wise to provoke Akatsuki in this mood.

She found him sitting behind his desk, his contemplative frown supported by one hand. He didn't speak or look at her as she took a seat before him. The first move was Erina's to make. 

"I'm assuming that your talk with Ruri didn't go too well?"

"She's stubborn," Akatsuki replied darkly. "Turns out she had us sussed from the beginning. Perhaps I underestimated her."

"I won't say 'I told you so,'. So she hasn't changed her mind?"

"No. I thought by now she'd be ready to relent, but she was even more insistent than last time. Stupid kid," His frown deepened. "It's all the fault of those fools she worked with. They've drilled all these _noble ideals_ into her skull." He slammed his fist down on his desk, scattering papers onto the floor. "They tainted the perfect crewmember!"

Erina didn't reply, seeing that her employer was having trouble suppressing his rage. It looked as though he was about to yell in frustration, but in the end he settled for clenching and unclenching his fist with his head hung. His voice when it came was stony calm. Erina couldn't see what rode in his eyes. 

"I did it this way to get her trust. Unfortunately, it's had the opposite effect. Now she doesn't want anything to do with Nergal or the N5," He shook his head weakly. "I can't see her turning a corner now."

After a brief silence, Erina nervously asked the inevitable question. "So what do we do now?"

Akatsuki brought his head up so that his secretary could see his face again. "We'll need a new computer operator for our ship. Make a search for any possible candidates within the company."

"Yes sir. And, about the child?" she asked hesitantly.

Akatsuki closed his eyes regretfully. "The stubborn brat leaves us no choice. She defied me. More to the point, she has all the expertise and equipment she needs to hack into Nergal, and so is a threat to us." He opened his eyes to reptilian slits. 

"Have her killed."

"Yes sir," Erina swallowed. "I'll see to it at once."


	11. Eleven

****

Eleven 

"That's the Captain, Yurika Misumaru. And that's Jun Aoi, the executive officer, next to her."

"Cool! And who's that in the background?" Mikoto pointed to the woman in question.

"Izumi Maki, one of our Aestivalis pilots. She was a very odd person."

Ruri and Mikoto were spending the evening in their room, looking through Ruri's photos from her life on the Nadesico. It had surprised Ruri to see her roommate so fascinated by her former crew and her life on the Nadesico. She was asking her all sorts of questions and wanted to know the name and details of everyone who came up on the photos. 

However, this was typical of the new-look Mikoto. Over the past few days, she'd changed her attitude to Ruri completely. When they'd been alone, she'd been friendly and had talked with her like they'd been pals for years. She was noticeably quieter to her when the other orphanage children were around, but her mean jibes and abuse had vanished entirely. She seemed a totally different girl to the one who had told her she wasn't welcome at Seven Oaks on the first day. Ruri had found this metamorphosis odd, but very welcome. Having someone to talk with was nice, but being able to walk into her room without having to endure a barrage of spiteful comments was an absolute godsend. 

"You must have had such an exciting life." she was saying, looking at a few photos of people on the bridge. 

"It was certainly interesting," Ruri admitted. "It was a life that suited me." She looked around at the room and murmured, "Certainly more then this one does."

Laying down the photos, Mikoto looked over to her. "Well, you can say what you like about this place, but I've lived here nearly my whole life and personally I like it. It's not as interesting as a space-ship, but I wouldn't want to go anywhere else."

"I can see that. You fit in here. However, we are two very different people."

"Huh?" Mikoto looked around at her. "Just because you're a bit smarter then me!"

"No, it's not just based on intellect. You see, you were raised to be a human. I was raised to be a tool."

"Huh?"

"My foster parents didn't treat me as a normal daughter." Ruri said mournfully. "They never played games with me, bought me presents or talked to me about life and feelings. Everything they ever did to me was done to help develop my logical mind and to further my training as a battleship crewmember."

"Woah. That's kinda weak. Are you saying you're not actually human?"

"Not as you'd understand it. Genetically I am human. However, my mind has been manipulated ever since I was born. It wasn't allowed to develop naturally and because of that I find it hard to fit into any situation which isn't the one I was created for."

"Huh?" Mikoto's forehead furrowed in confusion. "Can you say that in English please?!"

Ruri sighed. "Put simply, my whole life has led up to something, and now that something has come to an end. That leaves me with nothing."

"Oh," said Mikoto. There was little else she could say to that. "But you could change, couldn't you? You could learn to live here, right?"

"I could try. In time I may be able to adapt, but I doubt that I could ever feel completely fulfilled staying here." 

"Huh," said Mikoto. "I see," She yawned and lay down on her bed with her eye shut. For a moment, Ruri thought she was going to sleep, but a few seconds later her eyes popped open and she spoke again. 

"You know what confuses me?" she started. "You keep saying you don't want to be here, but when that Nergal guy comes and gives you a chance to get away, you turn him down. What's the deal with that?"

Ruri suppressed a sigh at her roommate's ignorance. Weren't her reasons obvious? 

"Perhaps I don't enjoy life here. But if I went back to Akatsuki I would be assisting in the mass slaughter of Jovians. I have no right to murder so many people just because I'm not happy here."

"But killing them would be okay, wouldn't it? I mean, the Jovians are the bad guys, right?"

This time Ruri did let out an exasperated sigh. That was such a narrow view of the situation, it was hard to think that she could actually believe that. 

"No, things aren't black and white like that. The Jovians are people just like us. They have just as much right to life as we do." 

"That's not true!" Mikoto blurted. "There are a lot of kids here who are only here because their parents were killed by the Jovians in the war! How can such horrible people be just like us?"

"You can't judge a whole race just by the actions of a few. The Jovians have families and children back at home as well. They have feelings and can be hurt just like us. I haven't seen their society up close, but I'm sure there are people who wish that both races could just live together in peace."

"But they wanted to conquer the Earth! That doesn't sound too peaceful to me!"

Ruri shook her head. Mikoto clearly wasn't listening to her properly. She tried another approach to the matter. 

"I know for sure that some Jovians are good people. Towards the end of the war, I met a Jovian solider named Tsukumo Shiratori. He gave his life trying to build a peace between the two peoples. What's more, he had a younger sister called Yukina, who looked and acted just like a normal Earth girl. In fact, come to think of it, she was very similar to you."

"You're comparing me with a _Jovian?!"_ Mikoto exclaimed, narrowing her sapphire eyes and wrinkling her nose in disgust. She looked truly offended. 

"You shouldn't take it as an insult," Ruri said desperately. "There are righteous Jovians, just like there are righteous Earthlings and righteous Martians. Naturally, there are some with evil intentions, but the people of Earth aren't perfect either. If it wasn't for the people of Earth, the Jovians wouldn't even have a reason to be resentful!" 

"What do you mean by that?"

Remembering that Mikoto wouldn't know the full details of the dark history of the Jovians, thanks to censorship by the Earth Government, Ruri decided to leave it at that. "Never mind," she murmured, not wanting this conversation to become a history lesson. 

"Whatever," said Mikoto with a shrug. "Look, maybe if I met that girl, I'd like her, but for now I can't say I like any Jovians." She lifted up some of Ruri's photos and flicked through them. "So which one is she then?"

Ruri looked over her shoulder. It was hard to find a photo with the Jovian girl in since she was only of the Nadesico for a very short time – and for most of that short time they'd been too preoccupied to think about taking pictures. Eventually one came up. It had been taken at that celebratory party she'd missed – Seiya had given it to her before they'd left. 

"That's her," she said. "The red-haired girl next to Minato." 

"Right," Mikoto held up the photo to the light. "She does look pretty normal I guess." 

"It's just like I…"

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Mikoto's attention had been diverted by another photo. "Are you singing or something?" 

Oh great, Ruri had forgotten about those pictures from the talent show. Chiding herself for not taking them out of the pile, she dropped her head in embarrassment.

"Ruri?" Mikoto looked over to her, pressing her for a reply.

"It was this contest." Ruri sighed eventually, her cheeks tinged red. "I'd really rather not talk about it,"

"You mean like a talent show? Cool! How did you do?"

Ruri shifted uneasily, she'd been dreading this question. "Well…" she started awkwardly. "Technically I didn't come anywhere since I abstained,"

"You mean you pulled out? But why?"

Fidgeting with her hands, Ruri said, "Personal reasons," 

"Aw, you spoilsport!" said Mikoto. "Who knows, you might have even won!"

"Who knows," whispered Ruri, looking away. She didn't mention that she _would_ have won had she stayed in the competition and that was why she'd pulled out in the first place. 

As they looked put the photos back in their box, they were suddenly interrupted. Their door swung open and, to Ruri's chagrin, it was Leon who poked his head in. 

"Hey Mik, you wanna come play on the Gamebase?"

"Okay," Mikoto rose from the bed. "Do you want to come and play, Ruri?"

"Hey, she can't come!" started Leon.

"Oh don't be such a meanie Leon! She's not gonna break it or anything."

Leon grunted unhappily but conceded. "So are you coming?" Mikoto asked Ruri. 

"Yes, I'll come," Ruri replied quietly though inside she was a little disappointed that her quiet evening had been interrupted. Although she hardly ever went down to the games room in the evenings, she decided to make an exception this time. She'd enjoyed the odd video game during her spell on the Nadesico and besides, she had Mikoto to act as her guardian against the other, less friendly children. 

They descended to the games room, finding it moderately full. Around ten other children were there, all in Ruri's age group. A few of them looked over to her as she entered, but most kept their gazes locked on the screen in front of them. She recognised the game since she'd played it on the Nadesico. It was a fighting game whose title she couldn't remember. 

"We play it so that the winner stays on," Mikoto whispered. "Which means Leon is playing most of the time. He's pretty good at this!"

"We'll see," murmured Ruri in response. 

The children began to play. As fight followed repetitive fight, Ruri saw what Mikoto meant. Leon did have an edge over the other children, but only because he knew a special move. The others just button bashed furiously, which wasn't very effective and left them exposed to Leon's character's somersault-kick move. Since they couldn't dodge it, they just kept getting hit and Leon kept on winning. Before long, every other child had faced Leon, but no-one had taken a round off him yet. 

"Damn, I'm good!" he shouted as he consigned yet another opponent to defeat. Every time he won he insisted on jumping up and doing an annoying pose with his fingers. His unjustified arrogance was beginning to get on Ruri's nerves. So much so that she decided it was time he was put in his place. 

"May I try?" she asked, trying not to sound too timid. 

Everyone's heads turned to her. Leon laughed out loud. "You're kidding, right? You wouldn't stand a chance in hell!"

"You've never seen me play. How do you know that I won't give you a challenge?"

Leon sneered. "Okay, you can have one go. I can take a few minutes out of my schedule to kick your ass!"

"Idiot," murmured Ruri quietly. Someone handed her a controller, so she proceeded to select her favourite fighter – a Chinese school-girl named Jenni. 

"Good luck!" said Mikoto. She'd fought Leon the round before and had been beaten convincingly. 

"This won't take long!" scoffed Leon, hefting his controller. The game loaded and the fight began.

_"Round 1! Fight!"_

For the past twenty minutes Ruri had seen Leon play and had studied his crude fighting style. As a result, she knew to block as soon as the round began. Predictably Leon did his flipping move, but she took no damage. He repeated the move, but this time Ruri timed a punch to knock him out of mid-air. A few laughs came from the watching group as they saw that Leon had taken the first hit. 

"Shut up!" barked Leon. "I'm trying to concentrate!"

Deciding to go on the offensive, Ruri made her character dash forward, grab her opponent and begin to pummel him with a series of well placed hits. A few gasps of awe came as the watching children as they saw her fervent finger-work and the on-screen result. Leon's damage meter filled up like glass under a tap. 

"_Jenni Wins! Perfect! 16 Hit Combo Finish!_"

"Woah!" exclaimed everyone except Leon, who threw down his controller in frustration. 

"How did you _do_ that?!" asked one of the other boys. His face was distorted by wonder, as if she'd turned water into wine instead of just winning at a video game. 

"It's pretty simple," Ruri stated. "It's just a standard combo,"

"Wow!" exclaimed the same boy, his eyes shining with admiration. "You're good at this game!"

"Shut up!" shouted Leon. "It wasn't skill at all! She cheated! It was a complete fluke!"

"No, it wasn't cheating, or luck for that matter," said Ruri calmly. "It was your fighting style that lost you the round. You're too predictable. You keep on doing the same move over and over without any thought for proper strategy. If your opponent didn't block then they'd find it hard to beat you, but otherwise it's hard to see how you could defeat anyone."

"Grr! I'll show you, you freak!" Leon spat, his furious eyes fixed on her. "One more round!"

She shrugged in response. "Fine," They both picked up their joy-pads again, Leon's fiery rage a complete contrast to Ruri's icy calm. "_Why is everyone taking this so seriously?" _she wondered as it loaded._ "It's just a game,_"

"_Round 2! Fight!_" the console announced. 

Instantly Leon's character advanced on her. Ruri decided to initiate one of the powerful 'killer-moves' in order to make this more challenging for her. Her slender fingers danced deftly over her joy-pad even faster then before, so that it was hard to see the actual button presses. Ruri's character had begun to glow several funny colours as the move charged. Just as Leon's street thug was upon her, she entered the final button command and released her attack. The screen exploded into several flashing shades of green as Ruri's combatant blasted forward, tearing through Leon's character like a bullet through paper. Player One's health raced instantly to zero, while Player Two's was left unscathed. Behind her, Ruri heard the other children murmur in admiration, while her character jumped up and down with glee at her victory. 

"_Jenni Wins! Perfect! Killer Move Finish!_"

"Wow! That's cool!" exclaimed the same boy who'd asked the question earlier. 

Clearly Leon didn't share that opinion. After staring disbelievingly at the screen for a moment, he started to shake his head in disgust and then hurled his controller to the floor with the fury of a well-beaten loser. 

"You fucking cheater!"

Ruri looked over at him calmly. Despite her convincing win, she retained her normal blank expression. "That was a legal move," she countered. "They even tell you it in the instruction manual. It is hard to execute though." 

"You cheated! You wouldn't have won otherwise!"

"Just accept it Leon. She beat you fair and square," said Mikoto. 

"Shut up! I'm just tired at the moment. I would have beaten her any other time," 

"Whatever," commented Ruri. "Incidentally, in the future you may want to control your temper. You'll never be good at games without a cool head,"

"_Shut up!_" Leon surged up with a shout, making everyone expect Ruri, flinch and edge away. Ruri merely regarded him steadily, her gaze betraying her contempt for this childish behaviour. 

"Go on, get lost!" he barked. "I don't care if you're a girl; you're going to get a beating if you don't stop pissing me off!" 

"I'd be more then happy to take my leave," said Ruri coolly. She slowly stood up then turned her back on him and started to walk towards the door. Despite the fact his opponent was making her exit, Leon obvious didn't feel as if he'd won the exchange yet, so he darted across to her and grabbed one of her bunches. He viciously yanked it, pulling Ruri's head back and sending a sharp pain into her scalp. She grunted in annoyance and turned back to him. 

"What do you think you're doing?!" She grasped his grabbing hand with both of hers and tried to pry it off. No sooner had she touched his fingers, then he let go and pulled back swearing as he did so. Surprised at this retreat, Ruri looked over at him quizzically. Deep grooves appeared in his sweaty brow as gaped at her from a few steps away. 

"Fucking hell!" he said. "She _is_ a robot!"

"What?!" exclaimed everyone else, including Ruri herself. 

Leon thrust a quivering finger at her. "Look at her hands!"

Everyone looked over to Ruri, who was now realising what the fuss was about. He held up the back of her hand to display it to the group. "Haven't you seen IFS implants before?" 

"IFS _what_?" Leon asked, his eyes narrowing further. Curious gazes from the other kids seconded his question. 

"They're nanomachine implants, Leon!" announced Mikoto, smiling smugly since she knew what they were. "Ruri can control a whole spaceship with them!" 

"That's crap!" snorted Leon. 

"No it isn't!" put in a freckled boy with glasses. "My dad had them! He used them to control his jet-fighter!"

"Shut up, Chad!" snapped Leon, his initial apprehension reverting back to his former fury. "They're so obviously fake! Why would a freak like her have implants?"

"She was on the Nadesico, Leon! You know that ship that was stolen and broke through the Earth defences a couple of months ago? She was controlling it!" Mikoto seemed to enjoy bragging on Ruri's behalf. 

"That's pure tripe!" stated Leon, forcing a laugh. "Why the hell would _she_ be on a spaceship? Unless it was taking her back to her home planet!" He snorted another laugh at his lame attempt at humour. None of the crowd made a sound though – they were all looking bemused, not sure what to think about these revelations. 

"I _was_ aboard the Nadesico," Ruri said quietly. "You may not believe me, but it's the truth."

"Lying freak!"

"I'm not lying,"

"Then prove it, robot!" Leon folded his arms and sneered maliciously at her. 

Without shifting a facial muscle, Ruri shrugged. "I don't see why I should bother. Personally, I'm not concerned with what you think of me." She turned her back on him and began to walk out of the room. 

Behind her, Leon laughed. "You see, she's giving up now! She wasn't on any spaceship!" A general hum of laughter emitted from the crowd, but Ruri had already left the room. 

"_That boy is an idiot._"

She'd barely reached the bottom of the stairs when Mikoto caught up with her. She looked a little flustered and Ruri could tell from her fierce eyes that she wanted an explanation. 

"Why'd you just walk out?!" she demanded. "Why didn't you stay and stand up for yourself?"

Ruri blinked at her. "Why should I have?"

"Well…!" started Mikoto. "You just have to! Do you want everyone to think you're a freak?"

"I don't know," replied Ruri. "But if all Leon wants to do is insult me, then I don't want to spend any more time in his company."

"Yeah okay, but you have those photos! You could prove him wrong!"

"Yes, I could. But what good would that do anyone?" 

"I don't believe I'm hearing this!" exclaimed Mikoto, not nearly as calm as her roommate was. "You could prove that you were on the Nadesico! Leon would feel really stupid if you showed everyone that you really _were_ on a spaceship!"

"You are right, but I'm not like him. I don't need to hurt other people to assert my superiority. If he doesn't believe me then that is his problem. I am content knowing that I know the truth,"

It was clear that her concepts were lost on Mikoto, who just shook her head despairingly. "I really don't get you," she said.

"No. To be honest, I don't think I do either," murmured Ruri, turning and walking up the stairs. Mikoto's mystified stare bored into the back of her head as she ascended. She didn't look back, but kept on walking up with her stony expression present on her face. 

_"Those who hate wrongly lead us ever closer to self-destruction. Even on the smallest scale, hatred damages us and ends up in an ever increasing spiral of fighting. Regrettably it seems that people place higher value on their hatred then proper reason and find it hard to forgive others. And yet nobody benefits from that hatred, it just leads us closer to destruction. It's madness." _

As she pushed open the door to her room, Ruri wondered, not for the first time, whether she truly was the only sane person in this world of fools. 


	12. Twelve

****

A/N – I'd just like to thank all you brilliant people who've reviewed so far. You've given me a much needed confidence boost, so thanks a lot! Hope you like the latest chapter! :-) 

****

Twelve

Matador saw himself as more of an artist then an assassin. In his opinion death qualified as an art. If it wasn't handled with a certain sophistication and style, it was nothing more then graceless murder. That's why he tried to make every killing unique in some way. Sometimes he tried to carry out jobs with just a single bullet. As a rule, he never used the same poison twice. Occasionally, he used his knife to cut pictures of skulls, flames or Grim Reapers into his victim's chest before he hid the body. For all this show however, he wasn't skilful or rich enough to allow his art to jeopardise his missions. If he couldn't finish the job with style, he'd finish it any way he could, but hate himself for many weeks afterwards. 

He'd been a hired killer for nearly a year now, ever since that fateful day when he'd been fired from a car production facility in Tokyo for taking one too many smoke breaks. At the time he'd already been in a tight spot financially, and this had been enough to push him over the edge. That night, he'd broken into his ex-manager's office and put a bullet through his head. That had been the beginning – the realisation that killing people was actually very simple when you got down to it. All it required was a loaded gun and a little finger motion. So it had started.

From that day on he'd trained himself to become an assassin. Although his first kill hadn't been particularly elegant, he'd been able to make successive kills more and more professional and creative. He'd renamed himself Matador since in his opinion it was the kind of cool, classy name that an assassin should have. His mates had laughed at him for it, but they could fuck themselves for all he cared. They didn't understand true artistry or that ironic feeling of _life_ that came with bringing death. 

He'd been in the middle of developing his latest poison when this latest call had come. This drug was set to be his _magnum opus_ and because of that he'd given his name to it –_ Matador's cocktail_. Even a single dart's worth of the stuff could be fatal, with the victim dying slowly and horribly over the course of an hour. Of course, it was too slow-acting to be practical as an assassination weapon, but that didn't concern Matador. After all, what kind of artist didn't take risks for his art?

He'd taken the call, expecting it to be the Ferzas. He'd owed them money for a while now, and had a feeling that a final warning was in the post. But, thankfully, it had been an offer of work instead. Naturally he'd been interested and given the woman on the other end of the line his full attention. 

Fortune had finally smiled on him with this offer. It wasn't unusual for big-time clients to offer more than normal to make sure that the job was done properly, but this woman was offering four times the asking price! That was more money than he'd ever had! He'd receive his regular fee immediately and then the rest once the job was done. Matador truly couldn't believe his luck – he'd be able to pay off the Ferzas and have enough money left over to keep his hands in for a good while yet. He'd even be able to afford that new X-78 sniper rifle he'd had his eyes on!

To make things even better, his target was an eleven year-old girl. Talk about money for nothing! Several of his victims had been well-protected or capable of fighting back. Most of them could at least put up a struggle. But this little girl? It was almost too easy. 

There was a catch of sorts. Payment was based strictly on provision of photographic evidence that she'd been assassinated and that her death could not be confirmed as a murder. She was to die 'accidentally' in a manner that could not be seen as a targeted assassination. That a common enough condition; his clients were often obvious enemies of the victim, so they were the obvious murder suspects. Despite that, Matador had been disappointed – he'd wanted to try out this new poison of his, but a poisoned dart in the body was ample evidence of a murder. Maybe next time.

Naturally, his client was anonymous. That was fairly typical as well, since they didn't want a lead back to themselves should a murder inquiry be launched. Matador guessed that it was some big corporation, if they were dealing with this kind of money. But in truth, he wasn't so interested in his client's identity, only the green stuff mattered to him. 

After opening a beer in celebration, Matador looked over the details with which he'd been provided and started contemplating which method of death he would use for this job. Ruri Hoshino was her name. Eleven years old. Short, pale, white-haired. Orphan at Seven Oaks, no known relatives. He looked over her photo and committed it to memory. She was a cute little thing, he noted with a vicious leer. It would be very pleasing to taste her fear. But cute or not, she would soon be knocking on Hell's door. 

So what was it to be this time? Most of the time he just used a gun-shot, but in this scenario he wouldn't be able to pass that off as an accident or suicide. Oral poison was possible, but difficult since everything she ate was taken from a larger batch of food. If more then one person died at the scene, there _would_ be a fully-fledged investigation, so another way was needed. It looked like he'd have to use the good old method of kidnapping the kid as she walked home from school, taking her to some isolated spot, slitting her wrists and/or throat before disposing of the body. Yep, that was the way to go. Tried-and-tested. He'd think of some way to make it artistic before he struck. 

Well, the details were here and the cards were on the table. He'd carry out the job tomorrow. The sooner that girl was sleeping with the fishes, the sooner he'd get his money. Matador grinned once again in anticipation as he drew out his shiny blade and tested its sleek edge with his finger. Oh yes, blood for money could certainly prove rewarding if you found the right client. 

***

Erina felt slightly nauseous and more then a bit light-headed as she closed the communication channel. She immediately drained the glass of water on her desk, which helped to steady her, but didn't do anything to remove the niggling guilt lodged in the back of her mind. The fact was she'd just made a call which would end a person's life. She hated the side of herself that felt remorse. It only served to weaken her and instil her with doubt. Doubt which was the most deadly enemy to what she held dearest - her own ambitions.

Normally, she wouldn't have had such a problem with it. Sometimes people had to be killed for the greater good, that was the way it was. However, when you had known that person and served on the same crew as them for the best part of a year, it became much more difficult to take somehow. It wasn't that she'd liked Ruri – in fact she'd long thought that the kid deserved to be taken down a notch or two. But still she was just a child. How could one justify killing a child?

"_It's her own fault!"_ she reminded herself. _"If she hadn't been so selfish and stubborn she wouldn't have to be killed. She brought this on herself."_

Still she couldn't shake the guilt. It was unquestionable that she'd earned her death but still, it just didn't feel right. Why was it that whatever option she took, she always ended up feeling like the bad guy?

_"Put your guilt aside. It's not like you were given a choice about this. Isn't your career more important then the brat's life?"_

Well, obviously it was. That was the decisive argument for her. If she was to ascend in the world according to her ambitions, she had to play by Akatsuki's rules. He'd said the girl had to die, so that was that. End of story. 

The Nergal secretary tried to shut out her thoughts by busying herself with a report. Soon, when the Nergal Five was operational and their plans were coming to fruition, she would be revelling in success and such pathetic feelings would be behind her. Now was not the time to let emotions stand in the way of success.

****


	13. Thirteen

****

Thirteen

"Oh, look at that girl there. Do you think she's alright? She's looks a bit sickly…"

At least once every few days, at home-time, Ruri would hear one of the waiting mothers make some kind of comment about her unusual appearance. They were usually concerned rather than offensive, but Ruri ignored them anyway. The wrong kind of sympathy could hurt.

She always found this time of day hard to bear. The time when lessons had finished for the day and it was time to return to the orphanage. The journey wasn't the problem – it was this first bit, walking across the school-yard which was filled with children meeting with their parents. It was a cruel reminder of something that had been taken from her. As usual, she kept her gaze straight ahead as she strode quickly towards the gate.

Despite her precautions, she still saw things happening through the corner of her eye. A small boy ran up to his mother, who scooped him up in her arms and hugged him adoringly. On her other side a well-built man was giving a piggy-back ride to his toddler daughter, who was squealing in delight. Two blonde twins raced each other to the other side of the playground, while their young parents watched them lovingly, their arms placed around each other. Ruri turned her head completely away from them, screwed up her eyes and sighed with infinite longing. 

"_I wish I could have what they have._"

The logical part of her mind temporarily kicked in and delivered its blunt response.

"_Don't waste your thoughts longing for something you can't have_,"

Of course, that was a foolish suggestion. She could bury her thoughts, but her emotions could not be suppressed so easily. Her yearning for those stolen aspects of her life would always be there in the background and there was no way she could stop that. 

Oh well…

She left through the school gates and went along the street towards the station, where she would catch the Shuttle-Train back to the village in which Seven Oaks was situated. It was only a five-minute walk from the school, and she was four minutes into that when suddenly an unfamiliar voice came from her right side. 

"You're Ruri Hoshino, right?"

Ruri turned around to see a tall man in a long black trench coat regarding her, while he leant against a lamppost with his arms folded. He must have been around twenty, with his night-black hair tied back in a tail. His similarly dark eyes seemed to be instilled with some kind of fierce shadowy force, while his youthful face was marred by a long jagged scar which ran like a canyon down his left cheek. She'd never seen a human with such a sinister air about him, so she put her guard up.

"Yes, that is my name," she replied cautiously. 

"I need to speak with you," 

She was about to go over to him, but then remembered something Minato had said on their Christmas shore-leave, about how you shouldn't talk to strange men when alone on the street. So instead she just said, "Excuse me, I'm in a hurry," and continued walking. 

"_I said_, I need to speak with you." The man took a step forward and grasped her left shoulder, forcing her to stop. Ruri gasped out loud, shocked by this sudden advance. She immediately tried to pull away but she couldn't escape this man's iron grip. 

"Let me go! What do you think you're doing?" she cried. 

"Just shut up and don't struggle," her captor asserted. "When girls are bad, I break their arms." He dug his fingers further into her shoulder to accentuate his threat. 

Ruri ignored his words and kept on trying to free her arm, to no avail. When she realised she didn't enough strength to get away, she looked around desperately for someone else to help her. Unbelievably the street was empty – apart from a few other kids on the other side walking towards the station who were ignoring her completely. It appeared that she was left to her own devices. She frantically lashed out with her foot, striking the tall man's shin.

"Ow! You little brat! Quit moving around, you can't get away!" Her scarred assailant began to pull her backwards towards him. His unyielding hold was making her shoulder numb with pain now. 

Deciding she had to act while she still had one arm available, Ruri nudged the strap of her backpack off her right shoulder so that it slid down to her free hand. Then she swung it back around her right side, then forward and around so that it went high over her left shoulder and clubbed her attacker right in the face. The weight of her school-books made it a hefty blow, causing him to swear in surprise. While that distracted him, Ruri kicked him sharply in the shin again. The unexpected pain caused him to grunt and loosen his grip. Seizing her chance, Ruri broke away from him and instantly started to run away. She didn't look back, but could hear his rapid footsteps behind her as he gave chase. 

_"Who on Earth is this person? What does he want with me?"_

She tried to run faster, but sensed him closing in on her. It was less then hundred metres to the station, maybe she could make it before her pursuer caught her. Maybe. But he was a much quicker runner and she could tell from the sound of his breathing that he was catching up fast. It was going to be a photo finish.

"Get back here!" her chaser bellowed.

"_I certainly won't,_" Ruri thought. With an abrupt movement, she ducked between two parked cars and continued running along the, fortunately empty, road. That took her out of grasping range for a few moments. Cursing, the man kept to the pavement for a few more vehicles, then vaulted across one to the road. Luckily, by then she'd gained enough ground to reach the station.

As she dashed through the main gate onto the nearly empty platform, she saw that the train hadn't yet arrived. By now her stamina was dwindling and she couldn't run any longer. The moment she slowed, her pursuer caught up with her and grabbed her arm roughly. Ruri quickly yanked it free, but the momentum caused her to stagger a few steps and fall down. She gave the man a fearful glance as she struggled to stand again. 

"Just come quietly and no-one is going to get hurt," he growled bearing down on her. His trench coat opened as he reached out towards her, revealing a long sheathed knife beneath. Ruri gasped at the sight of it – did this man intend to use it if she didn't cooperate?

As she tried to calm her panicking mind, she remembered another piece of advice which Minato had given her, about what to do if you felt threatened in the street. You had to scream and attract attention to yourself.

So she did. 

Clenching both her fists by her sides, she emitted a high-pitched shriek which she hadn't thought herself capable of. The few people that were on the platform turned to look at her in astonishment. The strange man, however, took an uncertain step back. 

"Shut up!" he shouted, his eyes darting around the platform uneasily.

Ruri pay no heed to his demand, instead deciding to keep this act up. She drew another large breath and renewed her ear-splitting scream, straining her voice-box to breaking-point. Her oppressor mouthed a profanity and backed off further, seeing that people were looking in their direction. Finally, he gave her one last torn glance before turning and running away at full pelt. 

"Hey you, stop where you are!" Ruri saw that the station security guard run past her after the retreating figure. However he stopped after a few metres, since the other man had too much of a head start to be caught and had already left the station. So instead the guard walked back to her and helped her up. 

"Are you okay, little girl? What was he doing?"

"He was chasing me," rasped Ruri, her voice hoarse now. "But I am unharmed, thank you."

Looking down at her uncertainly, the guard folded his arms. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes. I'll be fine," she said breathlessly. 

"Well, if you're certain. I'll report this to the police and keep an eye out for that guy in case he shows up again."

Ruri nodded to him and walked over to the edge of the platform to wait for her train, taking this chance to regain her breath. Before she knew it some more people approached her. She might have guessed it – it was Mikoto with some other orphanage children.

"What happened, Ruri?" Mikoto asked. She had genuine concern riding in her features.

"Maybe she's seen herself in the mirror for the first time!" sniggered another orphanage girl whose name Ruri couldn't remember. "That's enough to make anyone scream!"

"Shut up Annie," said Mikoto. "So what happened?" she asked Ruri.

"There was a man was chasing me," said Ruri. "I don't know who it was, but I am unharmed."

"I don't think any guy would ever want to chase after _you_!" murmured the same girl, smirking at her own cruel comment.

"I said shut up!" snapped Mikoto. Annie made a face, but didn't say anything more.

Turning back to Ruri, the plaited girl asked, "Chasing you? But why?" 

"I don't know. His motive was unclear to me."

Just then the train pulled into the station, sending a cool breeze over them and drowning out their conversation. The doors hissed open and the children boarded. No seats were available, so Ruri had to stand, holding on to one of the bars in the centre of the carriage. Mikoto pushed her way over to her through the crowd. 

"You're going to tell Miss Nishida about this, right?" she said

"I see no reason to concern her."  
"But what if he comes back?" 

"If he does I don't see how she'll be the one to protect me."

"But come on!" Mikoto exclaimed desperately. "You have at least call the police!"

"That security guard saw him. He'll be able to take the matter from here. Nothing I do will make a difference."

Though she didn't look happy about it, Mikoto dropped the matter. "Well, if you say so," she said quietly. "I still think you should tell someone though." With that, she slunk off through the mass of people to rejoin her crowd. 

With her friend now gone, Ruri looked out of the grimy train window. A constant stream of posters and lights on the tunnel wall flashed past her eyes as the train rushed onward. Their lulling effect helped her mind drift into a trance as she considered the niggling question. 

What _had_ that man wanted with her?


	14. Fourteen

****

Fourteen

_"Damn it!" _

Matador's removed his fist from the wall, revealing the sizable dent he'd just created. He was feeling more then a bit annoyed with himself at the moment. An unsuccessful assassination attempt was frustrating at the best of times, but in this case it was even more so since his target had been so defenceless. Today he'd tried to kill an eleven year-old girl, but failed. Damn, that sounded bad when you said it out loud. 

He'd been far too careless – he hadn't expected her to resist as emphatically as she had. True, he hadn't had much experience with kids, but he did know they weren't meant to fight back. She had. And embarrassingly, that had allowed her to escape. As a result, his first-time advantage was gone. Now his prey would be suspicious and that always doubled the difficulty of any job, whether freaky albino girl or otherwise. 

What made it all the more frustratingly was the fact that under normal conditions he could have killed her easily. Instead of approaching her on the street he could have just shot her as she walked along. No complications, just a bullet in the skull and a fast getaway car. And he'd have his money already. But no, things had been made that bit more complex. 

All this was bad enough, but the real kick in the crotch was letting that security guard see his face! Keeping your identity secret was one of the key rules of being an assassin. He'd carried out several jobs before this one and each time no-one had seen his face and lived through the hour. But thanks to his carelessness, not only had the girl seen him, but also that security guard had too. Chances were every cop in the vicinity knew his face now and would be keeping an eye out for him. 

Completely infuriated with himself, Matador dug his nails into his palms. There was no denying that he'd performed like a bloody amateur today and paid the price. In his own mind, he blamed his cockiness for this letdown - losing to his ego was easier to accept than losing to a fucking kid. He hammered the same spot on the metal wall, broadening the already considerable dent. Little bitch! Why couldn't she have accepted her fate and made things easier for both of them?! 

Despite his current anger, Matador was a professional and he knew that this aggression would soon pass. This was a setback, not a total failure. The job wasn't over yet. He would have to be patient, and strike again when the opportunity presented itself. And next time, the brat wouldn't be so fortunate. 

***

That night Ruri was thrashing around in bed, unable to find sleep easily. Ever since that encounter with that scarred man earlier today, she'd been having certain thoughts which she couldn't get out of her head. Why had he been chasing her? What had his intentions been?

It was the knife under his coat which disturbed her the most. It hadn't been a pocket knife, or even a regular hunting knife. It had been longer than either, with a hideous jagged edge. Clearly a tool used for murder. Not the kind of thing a regular person should have on him. So had he been intending to kill her? Or kidnap her? Or maybe he'd wanted to threaten her for money. Or maybe…, Ruri shuddered as she considered a fourth disturbing possibility. Just thinking about that last one made her feel nauseous inside. 

Well, it probably hadn't been money he'd wanted. Why would anyone bother robbing a school-girl, carrying only the change from her lunch money on her? It just wasn't logical – it would have been more beneficial to attack an adult. But in any case, that wasn't the reason. So what was it then? This was really beginning to bother her. 

Just then Ruri remembered a vital detail. 

_"He mentioned my name,"_

He'd known who she was. That meant she'd been targeted and whatever the man's objective had been, it had concerned her in particular. That narrowed the possibilities considerably. With this revelation, the two front-runners were killing and kidnapping in her mind. But which one, and for what reason?

Of course Ruri came to the logical conclusion. 

Nergal. 

Clearly they were up to something, there was no other explanation for anyone singling her out. Did they intend to kidnap her and force her to work on their battleship? A possibility of course, but it didn't seem likely, not unless Akatsuki was even more short-sighted then he appeared. Surely they knew that even if they did force her, she wouldn't carry out her duties with the same dedication and efficiency as she had aboard the Nadesico. She'd stall, slack and use the ship's technology to her own personal advantage, all the while searching for an escape route. It was painfully obvious that she wouldn't cooperate and one would hope that the chairman of such a powerful organisation would have the vision to see that. 

But if it wasn't kidnapping, that meant…

No, Akatsuki wouldn't have dared. Would he? Well, he had given the order to eliminate Yukina, the Jovian girl, when her existence had become inconvenient. And only the efforts of Megumi and Minato had stopped him from killing Tsukumo, Yukina's elder brother, when he'd infiltrated the Nadesico. And while she was alive, she was a threat to his company, not least because she knew of the existence of his new battleship.

_"Just don't forget that your fate was self-imposed,"_

Akatsuki's final words echoed in her head. Was this what he'd meant with by that? Was he implying that her refusal to cooperate with his plan had earned her early death?

She suddenly decided that she had to find out for sure. It was time to hack into Nergal. At this point she didn't care whether they traced her or not – she had to find out the truth.

After groping aimlessly under her bed for several seconds, Ruri eventually put her hand on her laptop. She plugged her makeshift internet connection into its back and booted it up. As the loading screens flashed by, she found herself twitching with nervous impatience. Once it was set up Ruri's fingers fell on the keyboard like torrential rain, as she began the progress of breaking into the Nergal network.

Ruri's connection was slow meaning it took a bit of time to find her way in. However, she didn't find it difficult to bypass the Nergal's security mechanism and was in the heart of the network before long. Now a bit of research was required. 

For twenty minutes she viewed file after irrelevant file, not finding out anything useful to her investigation. Frustratingly, she wasn't able to access files of the highest security clearance – they were so highly protected that they could only be accessed at certain terminals within Nergal. That meant the information she was looking for was probably out of her grasp. She was on the verge of giving up and going back to sleep, when something caught her eye on an accounts page which froze her blood. 

_Preliminary Sum paid to 'Matador' for the assassination of Ruri Hoshino – ¥1,800,000._

In that instant of confirmation, terror gripped Ruri like it never had before. She found herself on the verge of hyperventilating as the overwhelming horror struck her mind head on. Involuntarily, she lashed out at her computer and cut the power, as if deleting the evidence would also remove this terrible truth. But there was no denying it now. She had snubbed Nagure Akatsuki and now he was going to kill her for it. 

_"I'm only eleven years old! I'm not ready to die!"_

Of course she wasn't. There was so much she hadn't done in life. She hadn't yet mastered her own human emotions. She'd never felt true happiness in any form. She'd never truly loved another person. But all that was irrelevant to Akatsuki and his corporation. They wanted her dead and, knowing them, they wouldn't be satisfied until she was.

In that moment, the fear made Ruri do something which she'd never done before now.

She cried. 

It started as a solitary tear, seeping from her left eye and gradually rolling down her cheek. Then her throat closed up and she emitted a tiny frightened sob. After that the flood-gate opened and she wept tumultuously, tears spilling freely from the immense pools of her eyes. 

It was like some hideous nightmare had come true. Suddenly she felt tiny and vulnerable, just like the child she was. Her mind had decided to cave in on itself, devoting all resources to panicking. She became very conscious of her frenzied heartbeat and rapid, uncontrolled breathing, even as warm drops ran down her pale face. 

_"Please, someone. Help me."_

Sitting there in the darkness, she'd never felt so alone. There was no-one who could save her now. Not Akito, not Yurika, nor anyone else on the Nadesico crew. She was alone. And for the first time, she couldn't rely on herself to resolve the situation. She could process data, solve logical problems and work wonders with computers. Evading a professional assassin was a completely different story and one which would certainly have a tragic ending. 

_"It's over. I can't cope with this alone,"_

As total despair overcame her, she curled up into a frightened little ball, pressing her wet cheeks into her bed-covers and balling her fists to her chest. She held herself in that position and sobbed. Truly, she'd hit her lowest trench. This was the worst it had ever been for her. 

"Ruri, is that you?"

The darkness adjourned abruptly as Mikoto flicked on her bedside lamp. Ruri unfolded herself and sat up. Though her vision was blurred with tears, she could see that her purple-haired roommate was startled. She could be forgiven for that – no-one had ever seen her the way she was now. 

"Are you crying? What's wrong?" Mikoto's voice said. Her stare was a mixture of concern and disbelief.

"It's Akatsuki," Ruri mumbled, her voice faltering. "H…He's trying to…" She stumbled on the next word. "Trying to kill me," she eventually blurted, hanging her head so that her fringe hid her eyes. 

"My God!" Mikoto's hand flew to her mouth in horror. "Oh Ruri, are you sure?"

Ruri nodded, wiping away tears with the palm of her hand. "I just hacked into Nergal," she said, choking out the words. "I found out that he's hired an assassin to eliminate me." She wiped away a few more tears with her index finger before continuing. "I'm…afraid."

"An assassin?" Mikoto sounded incredulous.

"Yes," blurted Ruri, sniffing heavily. She wiped her eyes on her bed sheets before saying, "I-I knew Akatsuki wouldn't be happy when I turned down his offer. But I never would've thought he'd do this." She covered her face with her hands. 

Mikoto remained silent for several seconds, digesting all this in her mind. Eventually she drew the right conclusion, saying, "So that guy that came after you today was the assassin?"

Ruri nodded, keeping her hands in place. "That's the only logical conclusion,"

"Oh my God!" Mikoto gasped. "I don't believe it! That's like…oh my," Her voice faded as she began to comprehend just what she was telling her. For several moments she just stared into space, her eyes wide and shiny like a couple of compact disks. In the meantime, Ruri lowered her head and continued to sob weakly in fear. 

Eventually, Mikoto managed to regain control of her body and looked over to the weeping girl on the other bed. Pity welling up within her, she flung back her covers, walked over to Ruri's bed and sat on the end of it. 

"Here, take this." She held out a pale blue handkerchief to her. Ruri took it gratefully and dabbed her eyes before blowing her nose. As the albino girl struggled to recover her composure, Mikoto looked over to her from the foot of the bed. 

"Look," she said. "You have to tell someone about this. Get Miss Nishida to call the police!" 

"She wouldn't believe me," said Ruri as clearly as she could manage. "I don't think anyone would."

"You have to try! If your life's on the line, you have to do something about it!"

"No-one can protect me from Nergal," Ruri shook her head in defeat. "They are too determined. Once they have a goal they will pursue it to its conclusion, no matter what it involves." 

"So that's it?! You're just going to give up and let them kill you, without even putting up a fight?" cried Mikoto. 

"No," mumbled Ruri. "I'll try to think of something. If only I had some more time…" She leaned forward, two fingers pressed to each temple. More tears seeped from her screwed-up eyes. 

Mikoto regarded for her another moment. Then, to Ruri's complete surprise, she leaned over and hugged her. Though she felt initially awkward, Ruri admitted it was comforting. 

"Look, everything's going to be okay," she said in soothing tones. "I'll help you. I know that I'm not smart or special like you, but if I can do anything to help, I will, alright? We'll do whatever we can to save your life, 'kay?"

"Okay," replied Ruri, nodding faintly. She'd finally stemmed the flow of tears. 

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be able to think of something," said Mikoto, holding her position. "You're the smartest person I know, even including adults. If you can't think of a way, no-one can!" She pulled away and gave her a reassuring smile. 

"Thank you. I appreciate your support," said Ruri, wiping the last of the tears from her eyes. She gave her friend the tiniest ghost of a smile from behind her tear-stained cheeks. Mikoto's eyebrows immediately launched into orbit. 

"Oh my God!" she gasped, amazed. "You smiled!"

"Perhaps,"

"Wow. You're full of surprises, you know that?"

"I know. It's the way I am," said Ruri neutrally. 

"Huh. That's certainly true," Mikoto stretched out and yawned. She then tossed a strand of hair back over her shoulder and asked, "So what now?"

Ruri looked up to the ceiling and triggered the rational part of her mind. "I suppose we should get some sleep," she replied, in something approaching her normal tone of voice. 

"Do you think you'll be safe? He won't try to break in here, will he?"

"I don't think he will. At the moment, I'm protected by the orphanage's security locks. Although he could probably bypass them somehow, it would be far easier for him to catch me on my way to or from school, like he did today. I believe that is what he'll do."

"Okay," said Mikoto. "Fair play, I guess." She patted Ruri twice on the shoulder and then upped and went back over to her own bed. Pulling the covers back over herself, she reached out to switch her lamp off, but before she did so she looked back over at Ruri and spoke once more. 

"Hey, you know, don't worry. I'm sure everything will be fine,"

"I hope so," replied Ruri quietly.

"Night,"

"Good night," Ruri lay back down and turned towards the wall. Over in her bed, Mikoto turned the light off and she was plunged into darkness again. Ruri closed her eyes, though she knew that no sleep would come tonight. Regardless of anything else, she was a target for assassination. People wanted her dead. Tonight, she'd received more emotional stress then she'd ever had, but crying about it wasn't going to help. She needed to take action, and soon.

At least, Mikoto was on her side. She'd need more then her compliments to survive this, but Ruri had to admit that simply talking to her about it had already helped ease her mental burden a fraction. It was comforting to know that she wasn't completely alone in this. 

For now, it was time to rest up before she decided what action to take. She'd look at the situation in the morning. Like Minato had said, everything seemed worse at night – the morning brought new life and positive thoughts. 

Ruri exhaled desolately. Having Minato's advice was no substitute for actually having her here with her. Somehow, everything would have been better if those people who had become her surrogate family were here now. 

_"Minato. Mr Tenkawa. Captain. Miss Reinard. Mr Aoi. Everyone. Where are you all now? Everything would be all right if you were here with me."_

She shed a final tear as she drifted off. However tomorrow turned out, she'd be facing it without them. 


	15. Fifteen

****

A/N – I have some news that'll be of interest to any British Nadesico fans who might be reading this. I've recently found out that Nadesico is being shown on British TV for the first time ever! It, along with Evangelion, is being shown on the Sci-Fi channel as part of a show called Saiko-Exciting, which is on at 10am on Saturdays and is repeated at 8am on Sundays and 5pm on Mondays. Sorry if you already knew, but I only just found out! 

****

With that said, onward with the story!

Fifteen

Morning came eventually and Ruri found herself more able to manage her thoughts in her usual logical fashion. It was clear that she had to act now or risk losing her life - the one thing she had left. 

Since it was Nergal who had hired the assassin, he would know that she was staying at Seven Oaks. That meant he could strike at her at any time. However, Ruri had made a few assumptions which would make things a bit more difficult for her would-be killer. Since no attempt had been made on her life after that one yesterday, it was fair to say that something was keeping him away from the orphanage. 

She'd applied a bit of logic to the situation and decided that they wanted her death to appear as an accident or suicide, rather then a murder. A murder would point the finger at Nergal, since they would be just about the only suspects. If her death was to appear a murder, then the assassin would have to get her when she was alone, otherwise there would be either a witness or another corpse in the equation. That would explain why he hadn't attacked her at the orphanage, since nearly all the time she was here, she was in someone else's company. That was true of school as well, meaning that she was at her most vulnerable when travelling between the two. 

And that was the reason why she could not leave the orphanage. Once she was outside the gates, she was a target and could be attacked at any time. However, staying at the orphanage wasn't as easy at it sounded, since an unlikely obstacle had arisen in the form of Miss Nishida. She wouldn't let any child miss school without a good reason – she was very strict on that front. To get around her Ruri had planned to hide in the cellar for the day, but then she'd confided in Mikoto, who'd had a better idea. She'd suggested that she fake her own illness. If she was convincing enough, that would be more then enough reason for taking a day off. 

So both of them had put on a show. After everyone else had left for school Miss Nishida had come up to find them both still in bed. Naturally, she'd demanded to know why they were still here and Mikoto had replied in a dramatically weak voice that she was feeling absolutely terrible and felt like throwing up. She was quite an actress and had Ruri not known, she would have been fooled as well. When she herself had been asked, she'd just emitted a low groan, like Mikoto had instructed her to. Miss Nishida had bought the whole thing and immediately set about getting them extra pillows, glasses of water and bowls to put by their beds, just in case they were sick. Ruri found it amazing that Mik's plan had actually worked, and a little sheepish that she hadn't thought of one better. 

The one drawback of their scheme was that it meant they had to play sick for the whole day. So they spent the whole morning in bed. For most of this time, Ruri just dozed, catching up on the rest which she'd lost last night. She never reached proper sleep though, since every time there was a noise somewhere in the house, her eyes would instinctively flit open and she'd have to reassure herself that no danger was nearby before she could settle down again. 

By early afternoon, the pair decided they were suddenly 'well' enough to get up. They kept up their performance when Miss Nishida came in to check on them, but otherwise they just hung around, waiting for the day to pass. That was fine for Ruri. Mikoto, on the other hand, found it deathly dull.

"So-o bored!" she groaned stretching out on her bed. 

Ruri, who'd been sitting on her own bed and reading, looked up. "Maybe you should try doing something purposeful to occupy yourself," she suggested.

"Like what?"

"You could read a book. Or finish that homework assignment we were given yesterday,"

Mikoto wrinkled her nose. "I think I'll pass! Anyway, what are you doing reading? I thought you were meant to be thinking of a way to escape that assassin!"

"My mind is constantly on the task," Ruri said. "Even when I am reading, I can apply my mind to other things," She closed her book and sighed. "But in any case, I have not seen any logical solution yet,"

"Well, I'm sure you'll think of something eventually," said Mikoto, looking up at the ceiling blankly. "I haven't really thought of anything either, but I did have one idea. I was wondering if your old crewmates could help us,"

Ruri shook her head mournfully. "It is a good thought, but they are all still in detention. I can't meet them or even talk to them,"

"Oh right, I remember you saying that. So they're all out of reach then?"

"Yes. There's no-one…" Ruri trailed off, her eyes suddenly widening. Mikoto looked at her oddly as the white girl murmured, "Miss Fressange!" 

"Huh? Who?"

"Miss Fressange. She wasn't a part of the crew who retook the Nadesico, so she wasn't detained. That means I can contact her." She immediately brought her computer onto her lap and began typing. 

"Wait a second, who is this Miss Fressange?"

"Miss Inez Fressange is a researcher in the employ of Nergal," replied Ruri, not looking up from the screen. "She became a crew-member on the Nadesico after we found her on Mars. She has done a great deal to enhance our understanding of the ancient technology found on Mars, such as the P-T engine,"

"Hey, did you say she works for Nergal?" asked Mikoto, trying to pull Ruri's attention from her computer. "If she's part of Nergal, surely that means…"

"It's all right. She's not like Akatsuki or Erina. I trust her," She tapped in a few more keys. "Here, I've found her phone number," 

"Sheesh, that was quick!"

"Yes. Now I will need a telephone,"

"Well, Miss Nishida has one in her office,"

"That will do," Ruri immediately upped and strode out of the door. Mikoto followed her, a little overwhelmed by this sudden rush of action. 

The pair scurried downstairs and found Miss Nishida in the games room, tidying up. She was stacking magazines on a shelf next to the television, and turned around as they approached her. 

"Well, you two seem much more lively now!" she observed with an smile.

"Yes," replied Ruri impatiently. "We were wondering if we could use the phone in your office,"

Miss Nishida's face smile faded to curiosity as this abrupt request. "Whatever for?" she asked, her eyes expanding behind her spectacles. 

Ruri opened her mouth, but she didn't have a reply ready. Fortunately, Mikoto stepped in for her with a very well-crafted fib. 

"It's for this science project which Ruri and I are doing. We have to get stuff on volcanoes, so we ordered this book from the library and we want to phone up to see if it's come yet. Please Miss Nishida, it's really, really important!"

Miss Nishida, trusting as ever, accepted this. "Well, I suppose you can use it then. As long as you don't talk for _too_ long. Money doesn't grow on trees you know!" She followed up with her characteristic grin.

Although it was hard not to wince at the cliché, Ruri nodded a thank-you to her and immediately went through to orphanage's main office, next door to the games room at the bottom of the stairs. The tiny room was completely cluttered, but Ruri managed to find the phone on the desk, hidden underneath a hefty wad of papers. Mikoto watched her as Ruri lifted the receiver. 

"You are good at lying," Ruri observed as she dialled the numbers. 

Mikoto shifted her shoulders indifferently. "It's a useful talent to have,"

"Evidently," murmured Ruri, punching in the final digit. She brought up the handset by her ear as she heard the dull, cyclic ring tone. "Please pick up," she hissed imploringly. 

The ring tone continued for several more seconds and it seemed like there would be no response at all, until eventually, to Ruri's dismay, the answer phone kicked in. 

_"Hello, this is Miss Inez Fressange speaking. I apologise, but at the moment I'm incredibly busy on a very important project and am therefore unable to take your call. However, in a few seconds you will be diverted to a Nergal employee who will be happy to forward any messages to me. Thank you for your call. Have a nice…"_

Ruri immediately slammed the handset down, cutting the connection. 

"What!?" inquired Mikoto.

"They were diverting me to Nergal," explained Ruri. "I didn't want them to trace me,"

"Oh? What difference would it have made? They already know you're here,"

"True, but if they traced the call to this orphanage they would have seen what I was intending and know that _I_ know that I am a target for assassination. I believe that would cause them to abandon the caution they are currently using and instead take steps to eliminate me as soon as possible. Furthermore, it would have put Miss Fressange in danger too, if they suspected that she was assisting me." 

"Okay, okay I get it!" asserted Mik, holding up her hands at Ruri's reason. "So I take it you didn't get through to her?"

"No," replied Ruri, her bunches swinging around as she shook her head. "The answer phone said she was too busy to take the call. Chances are that it will be hard to get hold of her any time soon," 

"Oh," murmured Mikoto disappointedly. "So now we've got to think of another plan?"

For a moment, Ruri said nothing. Then suddenly she started up and out of the study. "I'll send her an e-mail from my laptop instead," she said over her shoulder. "That will be more likely to get through to her,"

"But what if it doesn't?" asked Mikoto, following her.

Ruri sighed. "Then we'll have to find another way." Quite what that other way would be was beyond her at the moment. 

They returned to their room and Ruri brought out her computer again. Over the course of the next half-hour, she composed her e-mail message to Miss Fressange, asking for help with this horrible situation that she'd been thrust into. Though she kept her typically calm exterior on the whole time, inside she was feeling desperate. If her former colleague couldn't help her, then she didn't have many options remaining. 

***

"Where are you taking us? What is this about?" Akito asked their escort, as they walked down the corridor. 

"You'll find out soon enough," the robust guard replied, his grim expression holding firm.

"We're not in any trouble are we?" asked Jun, coming up on the other side of the guard. "We haven't done anything!"

"I said, you'll find out soon enough!" stated the guard forcefully. "Right this way," 

Akito dropped back so that he was walking beside Seiya. "I sure hope this isn't about yesterday's ketchup incident," he murmured.

"Yeah," grunted the mechanic, giving him a side glance. "Cause if it is we'll string you up, fry-cook!"

"What are you talking about?! It was _your_ fault!"

"Yeah, right," snorted Seiya. "Only in the eyes of the guilty, Tenkawa!"

"What's that meant to mean?!" shouted Akito.

"Hey, simmer down back there!" shouted their guard, swivelling his head around to face them. Both mechanic and cook went instantly silent, like two reprimanded school-boys. 

Jun sighed. "Good thing Ruri isn't here at the moment. She'd have probably called us all idiots by now."

Eventually, their guard stopped by a metal door, which slid open after he tapped a few digits into the keypad. "Okay, go on in." Stepping to one side, he gestured them through the open door. Akito's mouth dropped open as he entered a room filled with the people with whom he'd brought peace to the solar system. Everyone's heads turned towards them as the trio walked in. 

"Ah, Mr Tenkawa," said Prospector, regarding him with his fingers interlinked. "So glad you could join us."

Akito took a few more steps into this common room, staring around at everyone. Most of the key members of the crew were here, though a few were noticeably absent. "Uh, hi. What is...?"

"AKITO!" 

He was nearly bowled over as he was struck by fifty-two kilograms of former Nadesico captain. Yurika hurled herself at him and enfolded him in a warm, but very restrictive, embrace. 

"Yurika," Akito began awkwardly. "Uh, good to see you too." He returned her hug. 

"Oh I've missed you so much! I've been so worried about you because you haven't had me with you! How have you been? You're okay aren't you? Have Jun and Seiya been good company?" 

"I'm fine Yurika! Really," Akito blurted, cutting off her verbal machine-gun. 

"I'm so glad to hear that!" Yurika hugged him tighter, almost to the point of cutting off his circulation. 

"I'm glad to see that you're alright too," he said quietly. 

Across the room, someone laughed out loud. "Well Ryoko, looks like you're too late!" giggled Hikaru. "I don't think you can break those two up now!"

"Aw, can it!" growled Ryoko, looking away to one side. 

"Can it break those two up? Can what break those two up?" Izumi inquired with a tiny smirk. Megumi, sitting next to her, had the good grace to look confused, but everyone else just ignored her. 

"Well, now that everyone's here we can make a start," said Prospector, shuffling some papers on the table in front of him. "There's not much to get through, but it's all pretty important stuff, so make sure you listen up. To begin with…"

"Just a moment, Mr Prospector," said Minato, sitting up straight on the sofa and holding her hand up to interrupt him. "We're missing Ruri. Shouldn't she be here?"

Prospector adjusted his glasses, suddenly looking a tad uncomfortable. "Ruri won't be able to join us. Anyway, moving on to the task in hand…"  
"Hey wait a second!" said Akito, taking a step towards him. "Why can't she come? Is she sick or something?"

Prospector looked over to him. "Well, she can't come because she's elsewhere at the moment." 

"What do you mean?"

"She was never here. Under UEAF detention rules she was too young to be detained and was subsequently a free agent." 

"What?!" It was Yurika who responded this time, in a high voice of anxiety. "Are you saying they just threw her out into the world all by herself?!"

"No, no, of course not. Nergal dealt with the matter and had her put in an orphanage in the Northern Area. You needn't concern yourself, she's being well looked after."

"An orphanage?" A few of the other crewmembers echoed Akito's enquiry.

"Yes, an orphanage." Clearly, Prospector was becoming tired of this matter. 

"So she's there in a strange place all by herself?" Yurika asked, her voice dripping with concern. 

"Big deal," said Ryoko, who was leaning against the wall with her hands behind her head. "So the kid's in an orphanage. At least she can walk outside without having a camera shoved up her ass."

"Yeah, she's better off then we are," added Hikaru. 

"Maybe so," muttered Yurika gloomily. From her downcast expression, it was clear that she didn't believe her own words. In the space of a few minutes her mood had reversed completely.

"Now that that's settled, let's get down to business," Prospector said. 

"Right," Yurika said, her voice barely above a whisper. Akito noticed that Minato wasn't looking very happy either. 

Prospector coughed and began. "As you may have realised from the fact we're all here now, the UEAF have decided to grant us a few extra privileges. Since we haven't caused them any trouble over the past few weeks, they've decided that we can now see each other at meal times as a kind of reward. What's more, we may now make use of the internal communication system, meaning we can communicate between cells at any time we wish."

"Well, that's good news," said Megumi, with a grin that was more relieved than cheerful. Having other people to talk to besides Yurika was clearly an attractive prospect to her.

"It is, but I want you all to remember that we were given these privileges on the grounds that we behaved ourselves. I shouldn't have to tell you that they can be removed just as easily." He swept a warning glare over all of them.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it," said Seiya. "So what else you got for us?"

"Um yes, there's one more important announcement I have to make," said Prospector turning over a paper. "Have any of you heard about these Earth Government meetings that are taking place at the moment?" 

When everyone replied with blank stares, he continued. "The Earth Government has met in order to determine their stance on the war. They will also review their inquiry of the events that took place on Mars." He pushed up his glasses. "With any luck they will decide that we had humanity's best interests at heart by halting the war. That may mean a reduced sentence or we may even be released immediately!" 

"Well, that certainly sounds appealing," murmured Minato. 

"However, it could also go the other way," Prospector continued. "It may be decided that our actions were treacherous and dangerous to the Earth's war efforts and survival. If they look at it that way…" He trailed off uneasily. 

"It means we'll be stuck in prison for real, right?" muttered Ryoko darkly.

"Well yes, that's certainly a likelihood. So as you can see it's a bit of a lottery."

"So when will we know what they've decided?" asked Akito.

"I can't say for sure. They're still going over the details, but it's expected they'll make an announcement towards the end of this week. Nothing's certain at the moment, but prepare yourselves for the worst."

"I suppose we just have to wait and see what they do with us," said Yurika softly.

"Again," remarked Ryoko in a dry tone.

"Well, that's really everything I have to say for now," said Prospector. He glanced at his watch saying, "We've got another few minutes or so before we're due to be taken to lunch, so do what you will until then," He laid his papers on the table to conclude the meeting. 

Immediately the room erupted into conversation as the crew-members began to talk with each other about this news. However, one person remained noticeably silent. Akito saw Yurika's subdued demeanour and called her on it.

"Yurika, are you okay?"

"Hmm? Oh, I guess so," she replied simply. "But there is something bothering me."

"What is it? Is it about Ruri?" 

"Well, yeah. I'm really worried about her,"

"Er, you probably should worry so much," said Akito, struggling for comforting things to say. "I mean, she may be just a kid, but she knows how to handle herself."

"I know, but she's always had us with her. I don't know if she'll cope as well all by herself." She lowered her head dejectedly. "She's not like a normal girl. I think she'll find it hard to fit in in an orphanage."

"Huh. You may be right," admitted Akito, scratching the back of his head nervously. "But like Ryoko said, at least she has her freedom unlike us."

"Do you think Ruri will see it that way?" Yurika asked. "I think that she'll find it very constrictive. When she was aboard the Nadesico we all treated her like an adult, but now everyone will look at her as just a normal young girl," Lifting her head to meet Akito's eyes, she said, "She'll find that hard to take." 

Akito wasn't sure what disturbed him more, the implications of Yurika's statement, or the fact she was being so uncharacteristically perceptive. She was certainly making a few good points, and they were making Akito more and more anxious. Over the past year he'd grown fond of the little albino girl and the thought that she might be unhappy with her life bothered him immensely. 

"You may be right," he said. "I hope she's okay." He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "However, for all we know she may be having a great time there,"

"Perhaps she is," murmured Yurika. "But I really don't see how. She's just so different to normal kids." She bowed her head again. 

"Yurika," Akito murmured. "Come on, don't be so down," He took her comfortingly in his arms. She hugged him back tightly, burying her head in his chest. As she remained silent, Akito searched for something reassuring to say, and found it after a few seconds.

"Hey, I'm sure they'll let us communicate with people outside soon. That means we'll be able to talk to her and we can see for sure how she's doing."

"Do you really think so?"

"Sure," said Akito. "But until then, don't worry about her. I'm sure she's doing just fine. She's more capable then you think,"

"Yes. Yes you're right," said Yurika, producing a weak smile. "Thank you Akito. You always know how to cheer me up!" She squeezed him harder. 

"Hey there you two lovebirds!" laughed Minato, who'd crept up on them with Yukina and Megumi. "Are you coming to lunch?"

"Yeah sure," said Akito, disentangling himself from his girlfriend.

"Sheesh, are you two _always_ together?!" murmured Yukina, with over-dramatic exasperation. 

"Not as often as we'd like!" said Yurika, kissing Akito on the cheek. She seemed to have regained her usual enthusiasm back in an instant. 

"So what do you think about Ruri in an orphanage?" asked Minato. Reading her face, they could tell that she was concerned about the child as well.

"Oh, well, we've just been talking about that," said Akito uneasily. He'd hoped they could leave the topic for a while now that he'd finally cheered Yurika up. 

"Yes," replied Yurika. "I'm a little worried about her,"

"Same here," said Minato. "I really hope she's okay, but we won't know until they let us contact her."

"Yeah, we just came to that conclusion," said Akito. 

"You know, I really don't see why people are making such a big fuss over this," said Megumi, her blue eyes flitting between Yurika and Minato. "I mean, where else would she go? Even if she was in here with us, she'd have probably gone into an orphanage after they released us, right? I mean, where else could she have gone?" 

"Where indeed," murmured Yurika quietly. Her expression was surprisingly thoughtful, one normally reserved for her strategic battle-plans. 

"Hey, can we go to lunch now?!" demanded Yukina impatiently. "I'm _hungry!_"

"Yeah, let's go," said Akito. The five of them joined the others heading for the exit. As they were herded into the cafeteria in the next room, Akito found himself sparing a final thought for Ruri and wondering just how she would be faring in her new situation. 

"_Well, at least we're not at war anymore. It's not like her life's in danger or anything_," he thought to himself with a small shrug. If she did have troubles, they'd be minute compared to the ones they'd faced before. However she was doing, surely she could be thankful for the large mercies.


	16. Sixteen

****

Sixteen 

__

"You can't run from me Ruri! I'm coming to get you!"

_Ruri tried to run faster down the hall, not wanting to turn around to see the dark beast that was chasing her. Its evil laughter followed her. _

"You can't get away!" She felt it closing down on her.

Her escape was suddenly barred by a door. She grasped the handle and pulled with all her might, but she couldn't get it to open. Fear overwhelmed her as she realised she was trapped. 

"Ha ha ha ha! Now you're mine!"

She couldn't bring herself to turn around, but she felt the blackness consume her. What was happening? Was she dying? 

Wait this isn't real.

_I must be dreaming…_

Ruri awoke with a start. A moment later she established that she was still in her room at Seven Oaks and everything seemed normal. Street lights from outside lessened the darkness, so she could see Mikoto and Tina in their beds, both sleeping peacefully. Except for her own rapid breathing, the room was silent. 

As it became clear that she _had_ been dreaming, she sat upright in bed, trying to regain her composure. Her heart was racing and her fringe was glued to forehead with cold sweat. She wiped it with her hand, and then leaned over to read the red digits on Mikoto's bedside clock. 2:24 am. It was still the middle of the night. 

Taking care not to make a sound, Ruri swung her feet over her side of the bed and got up. She walked out onto the dark landing with soft steps and stopped a moment to allow her eyes to adjust to the dim light. Once she had sufficient visibility, she walked across the landing over to the bathroom. The white tiles froze her bare feet as she closed the door behind her. She groped around for the pull-string light-switch and screwed up her eyes in pain when the room burst into brilliant light. 

After her eyes became accustomed to the brightness, she turned on the warm tap and watched as water trickled into the basin. Once it was full she leaned over and splashed lukewarm water onto her face. The cleansing feeling made her feel fresher and more awake. As she brought her head up again, she caught sight of her own image in the grimy mirror opposite her. She met the stare of her reflection. The face was familiar – her colossal golden eyes contrasting her petite nose and mouth. Her silky white hair was unbound so that it avalanched down behind her as far as the small of her back. As usual, her expression was one of severe neutrality, with the down-turned mouth and stony eyes, but to Ruri's mind it seemed much sadder then it had been aboard the Nadesico. Perhaps that was because now she felt the melancholy normally only shown on her exterior. 

Instinctively, she reached out and touched the surface of the mirror, as if to touch her other self. It felt ice-cold under her colourless fingers. 

_"I still can't believe this my reality," _

Yet it was. She, Ruri Hoshino, was still living in this orphanage and was now a target for assassination. Such a completely different reality from the one she'd once known.

_"I wish I could chose my own scenery,"_

But then, what _would_ she chose? Where did she truly belong? What kind of life could offer her true happiness?

_"I suppose some people aren't meant to lead the lives that suit them. It's just like Mr Tenkawa and how he didn't want to fight. But he did it anyway because he had no choice, but to fight. Just like me. I'm here in this situation because I have no choice,"_

Well that was certainly true. But by now she'd decided that the real problem was with her, not this life. Another girl would find life at this orphanage acceptable. But not her. She was just too different. A child with too much intelligence and too little humanity. She was a freak in this environment. She didn't belong here. 

"_I never asked to be me. To have my emotions traded for mental ability. To have my childhood surgically removed. I would have been happy to have been a normal girl living a life with people who I love and who loved me back. But I can never have that. Who could ever love me? I'm not human, not really. I don't have emotions like other people. I'm just a misfit. I don't belong anywhere."_

What a depressing thought.

Sighing longingly, she lowered her head to the basin again and tossed more water onto her pasty cheeks. She'd had this conversation with herself too many times recently. But now was hardly the time to look at the big picture. Her main concern at the moment should be that assassin of Nergal's. She was certain now that the assassin was staying away from the orphanage, on the grounds that no attempt had been made on her life during yesterday. Of course, it could be that he was biding his time in order to decrease suspicion after his blundered effort the day before yesterday, but Ruri doubted it. Surely the best thing for him would have been to get rid of her ASAP, before she could do anything about it. But he hadn't done that either. It seemed that her theory of him staying away from the orphanage, on the grounds that her death had to meet certain conditions which didn't indicate murder, had been proved correct. 

Ruri had to admit that after the peaceful day she'd just had, the idea of an assassin on her trail seemed unreal. But she wasn't naïve enough to believe that he'd just given up on her. She couldn't hide in the orphanage forever - she knew that she would have to strike back before long if she didn't want to end up dead. But what could she do though, short of going on the run? 

She didn't have many tools at her disposal. She'd sent that message to Miss Fressange, but she hadn't replied yet and there was no way of knowing when or if she would. Even then, she didn't know if the blonde scientist would actually be able to help her. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to take another sick day tomorrow and, if she hadn't replied by then, give Akatsuki a call. If she caught him out, then perhaps he'd baulk and withdraw this assassin of his. After all, it would be a great risk to assassinate someone who knew where her death warrant had come from – she could have informed someone beforehand, who could then reveal who it had been after the murder had occurred. Yes, that was the way to go. She could go in and use the school's printers to produce a printout of the assassination order from the Nergal network, which could be used as evidence. Akatsuki would have to pull back, right? He didn't want her dead _that_ badly, surely? 

Well, all she could do was hope. For now it was time to get back to bed, though she didn't see how she'd be able to sleep after this little mental conversation. She dried her face and drained the sink. After drinking a glass of water and using the toilet, she returned to her room, groping the walls to help her find her way. 

She opened her door slowly so that it wouldn't creak. Almost instantly she felt a slight breeze on her face, which surprised her. She then looked over to the far curtains and saw them blowing in slightly. Strange, she'd thought she'd closed the window before going to bed. Yes, she definitely had. So someone must have opened it again…

Far too late. Just as Ruri's mind leapt to the logical conclusion a hand covered her mouth and she was pulled back with force. This sudden shock sent wild panic running through her whole body

"I'd be quiet if I were you," murmured her captor. "Or else I'll slit your throat right here," 

She felt the cool metallic touch of a blade press against her neck, pushing her fear to astronomical levels. Instantly, she froze every muscle in her body, forcing herself to be completely motionless. She kept her screaming confined to her head, knowing that a peep out of her would bring instant death. 

"Good," said Matador, sensing her lack of resistance "We're going for a little walk. Now get moving!"

At the moment she had no choice. She had to cooperate or else she would die here and now, in her own room. Ruri allowed herself to be lead downstairs at knifepoint, boundless terror completely invading her heart and mind. She was in the clutches of an assassin now and at Nergal's mercy. The distant nightmare had become reality in a second. Now, the next move wouldn't be hers to make after all…

****

A/N – Okay, I've got a little announcement to make. This Saturday I'm going on a three week camping trip to Canada, so I won't be able to update for a while. For this, I can only apologise. However, once I'm back, I'll be working flat-out to get it finished. Please don't assume this story's been abandoned – it WILL be continued once I return home, honest! Expect the next update sometime in mid-September. 

Cheers, 

Dave (a.k.a. Huhn)


	17. Seventeen

****

A/N – Hey everyone, I'm back! After a three week break, I can finally get back to updating this fic regularly. Once again, I apologise for the delay. For those who are interested, I really enjoyed my trip to British Columbia. ^_^ 

Before we put Ruri's head back on the block, I have a few things to say. Firstly, I've been really thrilled with the reviews I've received while I was away. I wasn't expecting to get so many since I wasn't updating, but since I left England I've received eight reviews, which takes my total to a healthy nineteen and makes this by far the most successful story I've ever written. I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed in my absence, you guys are the best! ^_^

By the way, chalk any errors in this chapter down to eight hours of jet lag. ^_^

An additional note to Liam Roy – I admit you made a very good point in your review. However, remember that Nergal aren't opposed to breaking the rules when it suits them. I believe they'd go ahead with sending Ruri to the orphanage no matter what the law said. I'm also assuming that few people know who Ruri's real parents are, so who would try and stop them? Certainly not Ruri herself – she doesn't believe she has anywhere else to go.

Well, that's enough authors notes from me. On with the story!

Seventeen

It was an ironically beautiful night. Absolutely no cloud blemished the purple sky, allowing it to be illuminated by the light of a million stars. The low buildings of the village were clearly silhouetted to a beautiful effect. It was deathly silent except for the occasional sound of a dog barking elsewhere in the village.

Ruri, however, was in no position to appreciate this. At the moment, it was all she could do to keep herself still and silent while her captor bound her hands behind her with a strip of cloth. There was no mistaking it was the same man as before – he had the same deep scar running from forehead to chin and the same ruthless eyes that had been haunting Ruri since their last meeting.

Talk about negligence. There was no denying that yesterday's lack of activity had lulled her into a false sense of security. A fragment of her mind had been denying that an assassin could be after her and had helped her assume that the orphanage was a safe zone. She'd wanted that security so much that she imagined she'd had it. How idiotic. Of course, it was far too late to change things now. Yesterday's complacency was about to cost her everything.

With a final yank her wrists were pulled together, sufficiently tight to threaten her circulation. With a grunt of satisfaction the scarred man gripped her shoulder, firmly enough to assert who was in control at the moment

"Right. Get moving," he grunted from behind her. Once more Ruri felt the point of the knife press into her back, almost breaking the skin there. She drew a terrified breath and started to walk forward at a steady pace. As she was marched along, she felt the powerful jaws of dread close around her. Though she remained quiet, her mind was screaming a hundred different incomprehensible things at her, none of which made any sense. She'd gone beyond fear, into a chasm of unreality.

"_Calm down!_" she barked inwardly, giving herself a mental slap. _"If you want to stand a chance of survival, you'll need your wits about you. Now is not the time to lose control."_

Yes, she had to observe that thought. But at the moment, escape didn't seem like much of a possibility. There certainly wasn't an obvious way out, no matter what angle you looked at it from. She decided to talk to him, on the grounds there wasn't a lot else she could physically do at the present. 

"You would be Matador, correct?" she inquired, recalling his name from the Nergal network. 

The assassin behind her hesitated a second, but did reply. "I see my reputation precedes me. I guess I shouldn't be surprised,"

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, her voice trembling uncontrollably. 

Matador snorted disdainfully, as if her question was completely stupid. "For the money of course! Some bastard's paid big to have you taken out!"

"You place personal wealth over a person's life?"

"Hell yeah! The way I see it, other people just exist so I can kill them for money. If you're not a client, you're better off being on the receiving end of my blade!" He laughed repulsively to top off the sentence, causing Ruri to grimace. This idiot was talkative, perhaps she could exploit that. 

"So what are you going to do to me?" It was a hard question to ask since the fate he intended for her was unlikely to be pleasant, but she needed to know so she could plan ahead. 

"You ask a hell of a lot of questions. No wonder someone wants you dead," Matador murmured. "I going to use the traditional method for snuffing out a kitten,"

Ruri hesitated before asking, "And that it?"

She could feel his warm breath on the back of her neck as he leered down at her. "Drowning in a bag,"

Just hearing those four simple words caused her to take a horrified breath. Temporarily losing her composure, she blurted. "W-what?"

"It's simple," sneered Matador gleefully – he was obviously enjoying this. "All you need is a sack, a rope and a deep river! Even a kid can figure it out!"

_"Oh God," _Ruri felt her throat tighten as she put the pieces together. Hearing the manner of her future death made her want to stop and throw up right there in the middle of the street. For a wonder, she kept her stomach composed and even managed to toss an accusation behind her. 

"I suppose you're intending to set it up as a suicide,"

With a quick laugh, Matador replied, "It's a common enough story you know. Lonely, unloved orphan girl gets all depressed with life and decides to end in all in one final act of drama. No-one will blink an eye when they find out you're dead,"

"That may be true, but your plan won't work. I wouldn't have been able to tie myself into a bag. They'll know its murder," she found herself saying. A part of her wondered why she was bothering to point that out. Would another death be any better at the end of the day? No, it wasn't that. It was her fear that was speaking – it was making her nervously logical. 

Matador didn't take kindly to her comment – he thrust her forward so that she overbalanced and fell down onto the pavement with a cry. She landed painfully on her face and had barely recovered from that before fresh pain came as the assassin kicked her sharply in the ribs. Even as she yelled out in pain, she was hoisted back onto her feet, the unyielding grip once again on her shoulder.

"Understand this," Matador growled. "If you _ever_ insult me like that again, I will make your death more slow and painful then you could possibly imagine. Now get walking!"

Ruri obeyed him, though she was still smarting from the fall. Her cheek had been cut and was wet with blood, but with her hands tied behind her there was no way she could reach up to wipe it. Against her better judgement, she spoke again. "But how…?"

Matador cut her off with an angry exhalation. "Stupid kid. The idea is that I drown you in the bag first, then bring you back up so I can get my photo. And _then_ I dump your body in the river. They'll find you washed up on the bank somewhere and think you jumped in the river to kill yourself. Understand it yet or do I have to use bloody diagrams!?"

"Yes, I see now," murmured Ruri, not wanting to anger him further. 

"Well good! Sheesh you're such a dumb kid," He paused for a moment, then said, "Course, before you go in, you will be marked," he said 

"Marked?"

The assassin traced the blade up to her cheek. "All my kills bear the 'Mark of the Matador'. You will too when we reach the bridge and you should wear it with pride. Your life is being taken by a true master of the trade,"

What an idiot, to be so wrapped up in his own apparent artistry. To Ruri it seemed that any kind of mark on her would look suspicious, especially a distinctive one. She kept silent now though. Tiny grains of an escape plan were gathering in her mind, though they were being hampered by her increasing fear. 

"_I must stay calm. I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear_,"

Yes, she had to keep her cool. She had to think logically about things. 

Well, before she could do anything, she needed to cut her bonds. While it was only a band of cloth that held her hands together, it was still fastened tightly enough so that she couldn't twist out of it. She would need something sharp to cut through it. Course Matador wasn't about to give her one of his knives, but maybe something else could be used, something else with a sharp edge. 

As if summoned by her own thoughts, a possible solution presented itself to Ruri. As they walked along through the suburbs of the town, she scanned the pavement ahead, until her eyes fell on something by an empty fuel-drum. Someone had broken a bottle here, leaving fragments of brown glass strewn across the sidewalk. Many of them were large and vaguely triangular. Would they serve her purpose?

Only one way to find out. 

Acting impulsively, Ruri feigned a trip and threw herself to the ground. She didn't need to fake the groan she made upon landing and instantly rolled over the glass with her back arched, as if the pain was making her writhe. Though her face was wrenched with real hurt, her bound hands were frantically scrabbling around behind her, trying to find a suitable piece. 

"Huh. You're not only stupid, you're clumsy too," Matador reached down and roughly hauled her back onto her feet again. Ruri closed her hand about the glass fragment she had collected – it was the about half the size of her palm and had a sharp point at one end. It would have to do. Angling it towards her restraints, she began to work away at them, shifting her fingers to create a cutting motion and all the while desperately hoping that she'd have enough time to free herself before Matador decided to finally finish her off. 

***

So far, this job had been even easier then he'd expected. She hadn't even tried to oppose him this time. Once he'd had his knife on her, her resistance had melted like butter. This time there was no way out from her. Even if she did get the chance to make a run, he had his gun on him so he could take her out with a bullet. But that was a last resort – a gun death would never be seen as a suicide and in any case it was a dirty, inartistic way to snuff someone out. He did things with style. 

They were nearly at Tapi Bridge now. It had been a twenty minute walk, but it was the only suitable location around here for his 'cat-in-the-bag' scheme. Besides if he wanted to make the death look like a suicide, the river was the best place to ditch the body. Sure he could have killed her first and then dumped her, but he couldn't be bothered to carry her all this way when she could walk it. In any case, he was enjoying escorting the freak girl to her death. Although she hadn't been as frightened as he'd hoped, it was still satisfying to revel in her helplessness. 

Here they were. Tapi Bridge was only a small wooden footbridge which connected the river banks, but was still wide enough for four people to walk along, side by side. A set of weathered, but sturdy, wooden railings, ran along each side, protecting any pedestrian from a ten-metre drop into the water. The river itself looked calm enough from here, but was actually deceptively powerful – Matador had read that in the last year two people had lost their lives by falling into it. Within ten minutes a third would join them in their watery grave. 

"We're here," he smirked. His captive shuddered, but didn't reply. Matador snorted in disgust – why couldn't she show more fear?! She was sucking all the pleasure out of this job! 

Well, no matter. It was time for her to die now. All she needed was a mark.

He took out his marking knife, which had a small, but exceptionally sharp blade like a tiny vegetable knife. He held it between two fingers and a thumb like a paintbrush and brought it over to her cheek, its sharp point just a centimetre away from her pure white skin.

Normally when he cut his mark onto his victim, they just stood there quivering, perhaps emitting a pathetic whimper when the first blood was drawn. Sometimes they would instinctively pull away, not that it did them much good. They hardly ever tried to slap the knife out of his hand. And they certainly never followed that up by stabbing him in the eye with a very sharp piece of glass, with a hand that should have been tied. 

As his right eye exploded in agony he yelled and clutched at it wildly. For a moment he was unable to control himself for pain but once the initial wave had died down, he remembered his priorities and forced his good eye open. Through the tears, he saw the Hoshino girl reaching over the edge of the bridge, looking down at the river. Clearly she'd dived for the knife, but it had skidded off the side into the water below before she could reach it. That cocky little runt! Who was she to think she could defeat the great Matador!?

"You bitch!" he screamed, hauling her up by the collar of her nightdress. She just gaped back at him with bulging eyes, like some moronic goldfish. Grunting in rage and disgust, he dropped her back down to the floor. As she strove to stand again, he brought out the empty sack he'd had slung over his shoulder. It was time to end this _now_.

With an aggressive growl, he flung the sack over the girl, taking out her legs so he could get at the opening. She gave a frightened yelp, but otherwise didn't resist as the sack swallowed her up. 

"Take your last look at the stars, freak-girl!" he bellowed, tying up the opening with a rope, pulling it tight, then fastening the other end to the bridge railing with a dexterity that contradicted his rage. Once he was satisfied that both knots were secure, he crouched down and lifted the sack containing the girl. She was struggling now, but without much enthusiasm. 

"Greet your death!" he shouted. With that, he hauled the sack over the railing into the dark waters below. After a second of freefall, the sack broke the water with an intense splash and began to sink. A few moments later, it had anchored on the river bed, pulling the rope attached to it nearly taut. The execution had begun. 

Matador found himself breathing heavily as he watched it disappear below the depths. Pain and the thrill of the kill had combined to create a large adrenaline rush within him, so he brought out a cigarette in the attempt to calm himself down while he waited for the brat to drown. It took him six attempts to light it since his hands were still quivering with rage. What was made the pain worse was the frustration that such a defenceless entity could wound him so severely. That bitch had struck a substantial hit, probably damaging his eye permanently. He just hoped the wound wasn't as serious as it felt. The thought that a worthless rat like her should leave a scar on him…it was too much to take.

He tried opening his injured eye. Doing so brought no extra vision, but served to reignite the unbearable pain. He found himself manically gripping onto the hand-railing of the bridge, bracing himself against the agony searing through his head. 

_"Damn, damn, damn that bitch!"_

Well, at least she was being put to her deserved death. Even if she'd tried to hold her breath, she'd still be dead within five minutes. He'd leave her in for ten to make sure of it. Part of him regretted not making her suffer more before putting her in the drink, but the pain had made him act on impulse. Perhaps that was for the best – any more marks on her would have looked suspicious. He decided that he'd be satisfied in the knowledge that drowning was one of the more horrible ways to go out. 

Just as those thoughts had lowered his annoyance to a stable level, something unexpected happened. Something very simple, but with a great implication. 

The rope went slack. 

Matador's eyes flew over to the end of the cord, which was now being pulled along by the river current. What was happening?! No tension in the rope meant there was no weight on the other end. No weight on the other end meant…

Matador immediately darted across to his end of the rope and frantically started to pull it up. There was no resistance to his efforts, which was sufficient to confirm his suspicions, but he still pulled in the futile hope that they could be proved wrong. Of course that was never going to happen. After a few seconds the sack emerged from the water, drooping like a wet rag. Somehow it had been split and was now completely empty. 

"No," Matador shouted in disbelief. "No! No!_ No!_"

His words of denial couldn't change the facts before him – the Hoshino girl was gone. Probably dead in the river somewhere, but still missing. Whether she was alive or dead did not matter now. Without her lifeless body, he couldn't attain the photographic evidence of her death which he required. And he wouldn't get paid. 

"_No! I will not be beaten like this!_" With a defiant snarl, he ran off downstream. 

He spent the rest of the night running up and down both river banks, searching for her body or any other trace of her. But despite his efforts he found absolutely nothing. No sign of her whatsoever. It was approaching dawn by the time he finally gave in, and began to frenziedly pummel a tree with his fists, while screaming in absolute rage.

It was unbelievable. One way or another, the girl had won again. 

****

A/N – Man, that was a tough chapter to come back on, but I'm kind of satisfied with the result. The good news is that a lot of Chapter 18 was already written before I went away so it shouldn't be too long before I update again. Is Ruri alive? And if so, where the hell is she and how did she get out of the sack? You'll find out next time! ^_^


	18. Eighteen

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A/N – Something I forgot to mention at the end of the last chapter. The 'Fear is the mind-killer' speech is taken directly from Dune (written by Frank Herbert). I don't claim to have written it myself. If you're really observant, you might have realised that Ruri read it earlier in the story (see chapter 9) and because of that I felt it fitted in there well. 

Eighteen 

With the densely forested banks, the lulling sound of the rushing water and the crickets singing ceaselessly in the grasses, this stretch of river was a pleasant scene of nature on a warm summer's night such as this one. It presented an illusion of infinite harmony, of a place untouched by man's destructive hands. 

At the moment, however, this tranquillity was being dashed completely, as a tiny white figure burst out of the water, gasping frantically for air. She took two breaths then began to swim to the side, fighting against the merciless flow of the river. With a series of competent strokes and a surge of desperate strength, she reached the shallower water near the bank and righted herself. She took a few feeble steps with water lapping around her ankles, then doubled over and collapsed onto her front, succumbing to a series of vicious chokes. Her loose wet hair slapped around her and her golden eyes were screwed up tight as she desperately tried to force the water out of her system. Eventually, the barrages of choking relented enough so that she could crawl onto dry land proper, but there she subsided once more, her arms no longer strong enough to support her. 

She lay there face-down in the mud, all her strength expended on battling that river's mighty currents. Cutting her way out of the sack with Matador's tiny knife had only been the beginning of her escape – she'd then had to swim her way to freedom. The flow of the river had been stronger then she'd anticipated, as if it had joined forces with the assassin. Nevertheless, after a desperate eternity of struggling for the surface, she'd eventually managed it and reached the bank against all odds. She thanked whichever guardian angel was watching over her – tonight's challenge had tested the limits of her luck, strength and composure, but she'd come through it alive. Drenched and half-drowned, but alive.

As she lay there, it suddenly occurred to her that the assassin would probably search the banks of the river, hoping to find her washed up corpse. That would certainly be the rational action. Which meant that she should move as soon as possible if she didn't want to be discovered. She raised her head slightly, but immediately let it sink to the mud again. Why did she have to move _now_? She felt totally drained – standing up would require more effort then she would willingly give at the moment. 

__

"Ruri?" 

Her head shot up again as she head the faint mention of her name in the distance. Was someone calling her? Or was it just her mind playing tricks on her?

__

"Ruri?"

That time she definitely heard it. It was a female voice so it couldn't possibly be the assassin. Was someone searching for her?

In any case, it was time to get up. With a low groan, she slowly hauled herself to her feet, her limbs complaining with every movement. Most of her bare skin was covered with mud now and her soaking nightdress had been completely ruined by the ordeal. She was a total mess, both physically and mentally, as she tentatively began walking towards the voice that had called her name. As she went onward, she whipped out her long, sodden hair behind her and decided that a shower was definitely in order. 

It was tough going in this dark wilderness, but the full moon gave her sufficient light to see where the forest ended and the river began. For now she walked upstream towards the voice, knowing that she'd eventually meet the road along this way. She kept her ears peeled and walked lightly – chances were she wouldn't survive another run-in with that Matador person. 

"_Ruri?_"

The voice was much closer now, so Ruri could hear it clearly for the first time. She recognised it well – it was the only voice she'd listened to for the past few weeks. 

"Mikoto?" she called out softly. 

"Ruri?" The familiar form of her roommate suddenly emerged from the darkness, running towards her. Even in this poor light, Ruri could see her eyes were wide with amazement. For a brief instant, Ruri's own mirrored them – what was she doing here?

"Oh Ruri, you're alive!" Her voice broke on the final word, showing her relief.

"Yes, I was lucky," she whispered striding forward past her. "Come on, that assassin may still be around and we are in danger while he is. We should head back to the orphanage right away."

"Okay, okay," Mikoto said, still sounding shaky as she turned around to follow her. "But are you alright? You look a real mess! Are you hurt at all?"

"Not seriously, just a little shaken up." Ruri started to walk forward at a faster pace. Strangely, having someone here with her had given her a confidence injection, making her feel as if she should assume command. 

"I'm just so glad to see you!" babbled Mikoto from behind. Clearly the shock of tonight's events had completely frayed her nerves, making her more talkative then usual. "I mean you-you nearly died! Oh my, this is _so_ scary!"

Yes, she had nearly died, but stating the fact was not helping anyone. "Will you please try and calm down," Ruri said, keeping the irritation out of her voice despite her soiled state. "There is little sense in wondering what might have been, when the actual events have produced this outcome."

"But you could have been killed! He came so close to finishing you off Ruri. And what if he comes back again? For heaven's sake Ruri, what are you going to do?" 

"Firstly, we will return to the orphanage. Then I will figure out what I have to do," said Ruri with a patience she did not feel. "Come on, let's go,"

"'kay," murmured Mikoto in a tiny voice. Strangely, she seemed more afraid then Ruri at the moment even though she had only been a spectator. There were a few moments of silence as the dimpled girl ran forward up alongside her and matched Ruri's faster pace. Then she started talking again.

"I was so scared when I first saw him," she blurted. "I woke up when he came in through the window, but I was so scared that I just lay there and pretended to sleep. Then you came back in and he ambushed you and took you away and I just didn't know what to do! So I decided to follow you. I followed you all the way to the bridge, but I was too frightened to do anything but watch! Then I saw you attack him, but when he grabbed you and put you in the sack and threw you in the water, I thought you were done for! I nearly fainted, I was just so frightened!"

"You _were frightened_," thought Ruri wryly, but kept her mouth shut.

"But when I saw you'd gotten out of the sack, I decided to look for you, so I checked along the bank, hoping I could find you and I'm so glad I have!" 

Ruri nodded, not wanting to speak anymore at this point. By now, they had rejoined the road, which was totally empty at this time of night. She was careful to look along it both ways before they left the cover of the woods, but there was no sign of anyone, let alone the assassin. Nevertheless, they kept in the shadows of the trees as they followed the route back to the orphanage. 

"Are you sure you're okay?" Mikoto asked again. 

"Yes," Ruri assured her, before sneezing heavily. 

"Hey, you're soaking wet!" said her roommate, as if she'd just noticed. "Here, take this," Mikoto took off her jacket and gave it to her. She was just wearing her nightdress underneath – she hadn't given herself time to change before heading out to follow them. Ruri thanked her and put it on. It didn't make her any warmer, but kept out the summer wind which had intensified the cold brought on by the dampness of her clothing. 

There was another period of silence, but predictably Mikoto broke it again. By now Ruri was getting a little annoyed, but again didn't let it show on her exterior. She was an expert on that. 

"Uh, Ruri? How did you get out of the sack? You know, after he shoved you in and dumped you into the water?"

Ruri sighed, but answered the question. "I was able to cut my restraints with a piece of glass, but I kept my hands behind me so he wouldn't realise. When he tried to mark me with the knife, his grip was loose, so I could knock it out of his hands. I also struck his eye with the shard of glass,"

"Yeah, yeah I saw that. But how did you get out of the sack?"

"While he was distracted by the pain, I fell on his knife and put it up my sleeve, before he could see me do it. He thought that the knife had fallen into the water and that I'd failed to reach it. So he continued according to his plan. However, once I was below the water, I was able to cut myself out with his knife and swim to safety," She breathed in to conclude her recollection of her escape. 

"Wow," gasped Mikoto. "You did all that? And it worked?"

"On the grounds that I am standing here now, I would say yes,"

"Wow," Mikoto breathed in admiration. "You're incredible! You're like a T.V. heroine or something!"

"I did what I did out of self-preservation," stated Ruri blandly. "I was not trying to impress anyone,"

"But still! I think it's really…"

"Please Mikoto, enough," sighed Ruri, her patience finally exhausted. 

"Oh," Mik looked taken aback, but immediately fell silent as Ruri had requested. 

They went the rest of the trip without speaking. While they walked along, both of them kept a wary eye on their surroundings, but their uneventful walk wasn't interrupted. Ruri was thankful for that, since she now had another concern to deal with. Though she looked passive and drained on the outside, inwardly she was applying her brilliant mind to the current situation. Even now, a clever, yet drastic plan of action was formulating within her.

She just hoped she had the courage to pull it off. 

***

Mikoto re-entered the room carrying a steaming mug. "Here's your hot chocolate," she said. Now that they were back at the orphanage she had calmed down and was acting more like her usual self. 

"Thank you," Ruri took it gratefully with a quivering hand. The inner cold and the shakiness from her close encounter had gelled into one, making it hard for her to stop trembling. The scalding warmth of the cup felt wonderful, so she held it in both hands trying to restore some feeling into them. They'd done everything they could to get her warm again. She'd showered, (the scalding touch of the water had been heavenly after her ordeal), changed into dry clothes and was now sitting in the games room swathed in blankets with her back to the radiator and a towel wrapped around her head. Mikoto had switched on the central heating on her way to the kitchen, but it hadn't quite kicked-in yet. 

"Are you feeling any better?" Mikoto asked concernedly as she sat down next to her against the heater. 

"I'm a bit warmer and drier," Ruri replied, before blowing on her drink. "Though I'm still recovering from the shock,"

"I bet you are," said Mik. "I'll never know how you made it,"

Ruri took a sip, grimacing as she burned her lips on the hot liquid. "I was very lucky," she said. "In that he chose an idiotic way to try and kill me. Had he decided to kill me with his knife or retied my hands before putting me in the sack, I would not have survived. Furthermore I was able to keep calm and not panic, which was vital to my escape,"

"Hmm, yeah," Mikoto nodded in agreement. 

Ruri took another sip, taking more care this time. Then she looked around at her roommate and asked her, "Do you know what the time is?"

"Uh, hang on," Mikoto craned her neck to look up at the games room clock, which was directly above them. "Its quarter to four!" she replied with a laugh. "Wow, I've never been up this late!" 

Of course Ruri had seen this hour several times after many, many night-shifts on the Nadesico. Back then, the darkness outside never lifted. She didn't bother mentioning it though – she had something else to say. 

"Mikoto?" she started softly.

"Yes? What is it Ruri?"

Ruri lowered her eyes to the mug in her hands. "I'm going to have to leave the orphanage tonight,"

"Huh?! _Leave?!_ You're kidding, right?!" Mikoto blurted incredulously. 

Shaking her head slowly, Ruri replied in a low voice, brim-full with reason. "I can't stay here any more. I have no doubts now that Nergal want me killed. They know where I am, so I can't hide from them here. I have to leave as soon as possible."

"Okay, okay, I hear you. But do you have to leave _tonight_? I mean, you nearly died a minute ago! Shouldn't you recover or something first?"

"I wish I could, but I must leave while I have the initiative. Nergal think I'm dead. While they do, I don't have to worry about any more assassins," Ruri took another drink, sighing with pleasure as she brought the cup back down. 

It was clear that the shock was still settling in to the purple-haired girl, for her next question came out as a stammer. "B-But where will you go?"

Closing her eyes, Ruri bowed her head as if in prayer. She opened her mouth the tiniest fraction, only to abruptly shut it again. Mikoto stared at her with wide eyes, still expecting a reply. When it was clear she'd have to prod for one, she spoke again. 

"Don't you know yet?"

"No, I do know where," murmured Ruri. "But I shouldn't say anything,"

At that response, Mik's expression immediately became hurt, her jaw falling and her blue eyes beginning to shimmer. "You…you think that I'd betray you? Don't you trust me?!"

"No, it's not that," replied Ruri calmly, absently stroking the white mug with her thumb. "You must understand that the more you become involved with my life, the greater danger you put yourself and your friends in. For your own safety, it is better that you do not know where I am going,"

Mikoto was defiant. "I'm not scared of danger! I want to be involved! I want to stand by you and help you!"

It sounded so noble, but Ruri was observant enough to see that this wasn't spoken from the heart. It was just false boldness, spoken for drama, not backed up by real courage. Mikoto was just saying this to sound like one of her gallant T.V. heroes who would _never_ desert their friends! She didn't mean what she was actually saying. The saddest part, Ruri thought, was that she didn't realise it herself. She sighed in despair, how could she possibly make her understand that?

Children could be a bother. 

"I am very grateful for all the support you've given me over the past two weeks," she said. "You've made things a lot easier then they otherwise would have been. I thank you for that. But you cannot help me anymore." 

Ruri immediately regretted that final sentence when she saw its effect on Mikoto. Her lips were now quivering and tears were gradually seeping from her squinted eyes. "B-But I thought we were in this together!" she burst out.

"We were, but the situation has changed," Ruri asserted, trying to make her see reason. "This is something that I have to deal with alone. While I appreciate your eagerness, there comes a point when we must be true to what we are. And that means we must go separate paths. Please understand that." She sighed again deeply, then turned around so that her beautiful golden eyes were facing Mikoto's sapphire blue ones. "Life isn't an anime show, Mikoto. My fellow crewmates learned that the hard way," 

It was unclear whether Mikoto understood what Ruri had actually said, or whether she had just accepted it as wisdom, or even if it had mattered to her at all. In any case, Ruri suddenly found herself enfolded in her arms. Mik held her tightly, like a child to a mother. 

"I'll never forget you Ruri!" she whispered, her voice cracking. 

Ruri initially sat still, her expression revealing how awkward she felt. Then eventually something gave in her and she placed her own arms around the other girl. If it satisfied her friend, then she would play along with the drama.

"I will not forget you either," she replied, calm as ever. "Thank you for everything,"

"I-I wish I could help…" stuttered her friend. 

"I know. But you have already done your bit for me,"

They parted their embrace and Ruri could see the silent tears running down her roommate's cheeks. She watched, baffled, as Mik wiped them away with her lime-green nightdress.

_"Why is she crying? Is my leaving so difficult for her to accept? Is she so upset that she can't help me? No, it's not just that. This whole situation is out of her depth. She is afraid. Like me."_

"Will I ever see you again?" Mikoto sobbed, dropping her head to hide her distress. 

Ruri hesitated. "I don't know," she admitted. When Mikoto's face fell even further into misery, she added, "But I hope so."

"I hope so too," said Mikoto, leaning forward to hug her again. Ruri indulged her by returning it once more. They held each other for a long time, Mikoto's face crumpled up in despair, while Ruri's was merely thoughtful. 

__

"She's an idiot, but her heart is in the right place. Like so many people I know."

***

An hour later, Mikoto strode back into the games rooms carrying a small Tupperware container with a blue lid. Sixty minutes had given her the chance to come to terms with the situation. Her tears had dried up and she sounded as normal as ever, perhaps even enthusiastic. 

"Okay, I got you some fruit, a few cereal bars, a packet of biscuits and a carton of orange juice. Will that be okay?"

"Yes, that will be fine," said Ruri absently, buttoning up her white shirt with her back to her. Mikoto had been so desperately eager to help her that earlier on Ruri had said she could lend a hand by packing her some food for her trip. It gave her something to do while she packed everything else she needed. It also gave Ruri time to dress. She didn't know herself why she had chosen her Nadesico attire for her getaway; other then it had felt right somehow. 

"I also made you a ham sandwich," Mik continued with a bright, but forced, smile. "I figured I owed you a sandwich after before!"

"Thank you," replied Ruri, not facing her. She did up her cuffs, pulled up her black tie to her neck and donned her orange top. Finally, she fixed her hair into those bunches that defined her and turned around to her roommate. 

Upon seeing her, Mikoto's eyebrows jolted up her forehead. "Wow! Is that your Nadesico uniform?"

"It used to be," 

"Cool,"

The pair walked out into the dim hallway of the orphanage and there Mikoto watched as Ruri opened her backpack to check that she had everything she needed. She took the lunch box from her friend and shoved it in among her other items – which included a blanket, a large kitchen knife for defence, what little money she had left on her and, of course, her trusty laptop. The resulting pack was heavier then she would have wanted, but she would have to make do. 

"I have a favour to ask," she said as she rummaged through her stuff.

"Sure Ruri, what is it?"

The totally white girl picked up her bag and hugged it to her chest. "If anyone asks you, you haven't seen me tonight. I don't want it known that I'm running away,"

"But why not?" asked Mik, confusion on her face. "That's what they'll think anyway, right?"

"True, that is what most people will think. Nergal, however, believe that I was assassinated last night. If they hear any different, my life will be in danger again."

"Okay, don't worry. I won't tell anyone, not even Miss Nishida. You can trust me Ruri," 

"Thank you," She walked over towards the front door, which Mikoto had already opened for her. 

"So you're really going now?" Mik asked unnecessarily. 

"Yes. I have a deadline to meet," Ruri looked outside into the darkness. "I must reach my first destination by dawn,"

"Well, take care of yourself," said Mikoto. Her voice seemed very timid now - it was as if she'd used up all her emotion earlier on. 

"You too," replied Ruri, using her usual monotonous voice.

"You'll let me know how things go, yeah?" 

"I'll try. I will contact you soon if conditions allow me to,"

"'kay," whispered Mikoto with a wan nod. "Bye then," She extended a hand to her.

"Goodbye," Ruri clasped it with her own bone-white one. They held each others palms for several seconds – it was kind of a formal gesture of their separation. Mikoto gave her a weak smile, and Ruri found it in herself to deem her one in return. 

Once their hands had parted, Ruri shouldered her backpack, turned away from her and walked out of the door into the night beyond. As she crossed the threshold, she suddenly paused. Somehow this didn't feel right. She felt as if she should say something else before she left. A final word of wisdom. Uncertainly, she turned around to face her ex-roommate again.

"Um, Mikoto?"

"Yes?" said Mik.

"I want to leave you with one thought. Something that a friend once told me," 

The purple-haired girl looked at her with curiosity plainly present in her massive shiny eyes and slightly parted mouth. She nodded twice quickly, signalling her to go on. When Ruri spoke again, her voice was quiet, but the words contained power of their own. 

"Those Unforgettable Days. For Them I Live," 

With that Ruri shouldered her backpack, nodded a final farewell and walked away. Mikoto was gaping as she left, since her mind was reeling from Ruri's final words. Nevertheless she kept her eyes on her former roommate as she walked along the street, constantly disappearing and reappearing as she travelled through the glow from the streetlights. Her pace was casual, but quick as she began her journey towards her secret destination. Mik kept on watching her until she was out of sight completely, swallowed by the darkness of the night. 

"Bye," she murmured softly as the strangest friend she'd ever had walked out of her life before her very eyes. 

****

A/N - Before I put up this chapter, I was asked a very good question – can Ruri swim even though she wasn't taught any sports? My answer would be yes. Since the institute where she was raised was right next to a fjord, I think she would have been taught to swim for her own safety. What's more, she seems to have a strange affinity with fish – take note of her mobile and the fact she remembers the salmon jumping in her dreams. In my opinion that would also imply an affinity with water, and if she's comfortable with water, she must be able to swim, right? Well it's just a theory, but keep in mind that had I made Ruri unable to swim she would have had a very unpleasant watery death and we wouldn't have wanted that, would we?


	19. Nineteen

****

Nineteen

The pale dawn light was splashing over Ruri as she approached the rail track. She was worn-out after spending tonight running, rather than sleeping but now she had reached her first target. Her transport to her next destination was sitting on the tracks in front of her. The string of colossal wagons continued well beyond the vanishing point. Somewhere up there was the train control room, but she couldn't see it from here. But that factored in her plan – she was hitching a ride and didn't want to be detected. 

Making sure her backpack was secure on her back, she climbed up the side of the metal wagon using the available footholds. It wasn't really that high, but her computer weighed her down and her arms nearly gave out before she'd reached the rim. She grimaced at the strain and once she was safely on top, flung herself down among the ore, completely spent. She knew that she'd done her bit for now and could rest up until this train reached her destination. 

Once the intense ache in her arms had died down enough so she could use them again, she opened up her backpack, took out the blanket and wrapped it around herself as a shield against the nippy morning. She then took out a cereal bar and ate it with nervous, nibbling bites, her snow-white hands constantly trembling with anxiety and sleep deprivation. 

After finishing her surrogate breakfast she curled up into her blanket and lay down, using her backpack as a pillow. With any luck she could catch a few hours sleep before she reached her ultimate destination.

***

"What do you think it's about this time?" Akito asked the group, who were sitting together in the same common room as before. It was far too early for lunch, so presumably this meeting was for some unknown special purpose. Akito had been speculating ever since they'd been let out off their cell, but ten minutes later down the line he still hadn't formed a decent guess. 

"Sheesh, you're as dense as ever Tenkawa!" murmured Ryoko, throwing one of her aggressive glares his way. The motley trio of Aesti pilots were currently the only other group in the room – Ryoko and Hikaru were slouched on the couch opposite them while Izumi was in the next chair, her legs drawn up to her and her slender hands dancing together in a random pattern. She giggled constantly, altering her volume so that it was as annoying as it was creepy. 

Akito looked over to the green-haired pilot, dejected by her fierce comment. "Why, what'd I do?" he asked feebly.

Ryoko shook her head, as if unable to believe his ignorance. "The Earth Government meetings, you idiot!" she shouted. "Obviously they'll have made their decision by now, so we're finally gonna find out whether or not we're going to rot in a cell for the rest of our lives! You got that?!"

"Oh," murmured Akito. Now that she mentioned it, it _was_ pretty obvious. 

"Yeah, that's why Ryoko's all tense today!" laughed Hikaru. "Prospector's going to come in and tell us whether we're here for a longer or shorter time then we thought." She bounced up and down eagerly on her seat. "I'm really excited!"

"I hope they see fit to do the." muttered Izumi, cutting off suddenly. 

"Huh?" asked everyone else, united in confusion. Izumi stared into space a moment longer and then replied in a low voice.

"Sorry. I reduced the length of my sentence," 

After a brief pause to let it sink in, she began to cackle hysterically, bashing the chair under her for all she was worth. Everyone else just groaned in anguish slumping in their respective seats as the peculiar Aesti pilot revelled in her own apparent hilarity.

"No doubt about it. She's definitely getting worse," murmured Jun, mainly to himself. 

There was no hope of saving any conversation after that, so luckily the door slid open to admit some newcomers and inject some life into the room. Everyone turned around as Yurika and Megumi walked in. Predictably, their former captain took one glance at the assembled group and emitted a delighted shriek. 

"AKITO!"

His pleasure of seeing his girlfriend was temporarily overridden by his despair at the high-pitched mention of his name. Why did she insist on saying it every time she saw him? Oh well, at least she was here and in good health. Akito stood to greet her, a little reluctantly since he knew he was just going to be knocked down again. 

"Hi Yurika," he said with a slight grin.

"Oh Akito!" Yurika darted over to him, engulfed him in her arms and kissed him adoringly on the cheek. Sighing happily, he put his own arms around her and pulled her closer. She was so predictably passionate, but he loved her for it.

"Did you hear, Akito? Mr Prospector is going to tell us what the Earth Government has decided today! That means we'll know just how much longer we'll have to stay in here!"

"Yeah, I heard," said Akito, scratching the back of his head and keeping his eyes off Ryoko. "Are you nervous?"

"Oh yeah, a little I guess. I mean one way or another it's going to really affect our futures! We could be let out next week or imprisoned for life based on today's decision! Isn't that scary!?"

"Yeah I guess," said Akito. It seemed unreal, the impact today's news would have on their lives. 

After Yurika had settled down, the room became much less active. Everyone just sat around with conversation only occurring in quick bursts separated by long periods of silence. Every so often the tension was interrupted by another of the crew arriving, but apart from that the air of nervousness in the room was completely dominating. Jun kept on clearing his throat, Hikaru chewed on a lock of hair, Seiya cracked his knuckles and Megumi constantly shifted her seating position, crossing one leg, then removing it and crossing the other. A casual observer would have found the scene comical, but at the moment the crew of the Nadesico didn't see much humour in the situation. Well, except for Izumi, who was humming the tune to 'Yesterday' over and over again.

Twenty minutes later, Minato and Yukina arrived, meaning that Prospector and Goat Hoary were the only key crewmembers not present. As usual, Minato's cheerful smile carved through the air of anxiety, helping everyone relax if only a little.

"Hi!" she said, sitting down on the chair which Jun had given up for her. "Is everyone ready for the big news then?"

"That depends on what it turns out to be," said Megumi, whose tattered nerves made her voice tremble. 

"By now I'll just be glad to know," murmured Seiya, steadily supporting his chin with his hand in a rare display of dignity. "Whether we're kept in here for a week or an eternity I just want to have a day ringed on my calendar so I know when I'll finally get my freedom. It's the not knowing that bothers me,"

"Yeah, I see what you mean," said Jun. "Though personally I think…"

They never got to find out what Jun thought since at that point the door suddenly slid open again. Everyone went quiet as Prospector strode slowly into the room, closely followed by the massive form of Goat Hoary. In his hand he held a piece of paper – which inevitably contained their fate. He didn't speak, but nodded them a greeting as he went to take his place behind the desk at the head of the room. His stern expression revealed absolutely nothing, not even a clue. 

__

"He's not giving anything away," thought Akito. _"Is it bad news?"_

"Good morning everyone," the Nergal accountant said in his business tone. "As you will no doubt have guessed the Earth Government meetings regarding the war and the incident on Mars have reached their conclusion, with a near unanimous decision on their stance for the future of humanity. They have also reached their verdict on our second visit to Mars and have prepared a statement which I will read out now," He held up the piece of paper to show them, then unfolded it and coughed to clear his throat. Everyone's eyes were on him now, no-one even daring to breathe. The tension was peaking and even Izumi had a nervous look about her now. Akito felt Yurika squeeze his hand as Prospector began to read. 

"In light of the recent decision by the Earth Government to pursue peace in the solar system and following their inquiry into the Martian Incident, it has been decided by Government and UEAF officials that the actions of the crew of the Gunship Nadesico ND-001, though traitorous and illegal, were carried out in the best interests of mankind as a whole. As a result of this, it has been decided that the detention spell of the crew under the UEAF is to be terminated immediately," 

The united roar that came after his final words was deafening. Suddenly everyone was on their feet, cheering wildly. Akito found Yurika in his arms again, kissing him like their lives depended on it. Jun and Seiya both punched the air several times and did a hefty high-five. To one side the Howmei girls were performing a cheerleader routine, while Miss Howmei herself watched them and grinned. Minato and Yukina were laughing and embracing and next to them Hikaru and Izumi were doing a synchronised celebratory dance. Ryoko and Megumi, however, simply slouched further in their seats with their heads lying back, as they released a combined sign of relief to the heavens. 

"Well done everyone," smiled Prospector, discarding his grim business mood which had done its job of building the suspense. "We will be formally discharged at one o'clock today. I suggest that you all return to your cells and start packing! Oh my…" He trailed off as Hikaru and Minato hugged him from either side, both of them sporting sunny smiles. 

"Isn't this wonderful Akito!" said Yurika, who had released him except for both his hands. "We can finally start our new life together! Oh, I'm so excited!" She threw herself into his arms again. 

"Yeah, me too!" said Akito, swinging her around. "I can't wait!"

Meanwhile Megumi, who was still in her seat, looked over to Ryoko. "Relieved?" she asked with a weak smile. 

Ryoko cast a dark glance over to Izumi, who was fruitlessly begging Goat to give her a hug. "Like you wouldn't believe," she assured her. 

***

"Yurika, just how many bags do you have?" asked Akito. He was hopelessly over-laden with baggage of all description. His shoulders were bitching ceaselessly at him and his legs would have buckled long ago had he not realised what a disaster it would be to drop all the bags having just found a way to hold them all. 

"Oh that's all of them!" beamed Yurika, who was just pulling along a small wheeled suitcase behind her. "Isn't it lucky that you're so strong?!"

Akito only grunted in return as he struggled after her down the corridor. A security guard at the end of it smirked at his predicament, but was decent enough to open the door for them. 

They'd barely entered the room before the dark-haired girl behind the desk stood up and cheerfully greeted them. "Hello there! Yurika Misumaru and Akito Tenkawa is it?" She spoke with a British accent.

"That's us!" replied Yurika, equally perky.

"Before you can leave you'll need you to sign a few things," the girl behind the desk pushed two clipboards towards them with a bright smile. "If you'd just like to plant your monikers on those please,"

"Sure!" said Yurika, coming over to the desk. Akito groaned as he realised he would have to redeploy his arms. Inevitably succumbing to the gravity he collapsed, spilling bags everywhere. 

The secretary looked over concernedly. "Are you alright, Sir?"

"Oh he's fine! Come on Akito, sign the form so we can leave!" said Yurika eagerly. 

"Yes dear," he mumbled, extracting himself from the mountainous pile of luggage.

Two signatures and three minutes later the couple were standing on the bustling streets of Hiratsuka, as free agents. The city which had seemed so far away before was now surrounding them, immersing their senses with the ceaseless activity of a vast urban landscape. To Akito, the new sensation of freedom felt incredible, just knowing that they could finally make their own choices – they could go into a café, browse through the shops, walk along the waterfront or take the train out of the city. They could do anything at all, their lives were their own again. And Akito just couldn't stop smiling. He had life, liberty and love. What more could he want?

"Well, we're finally free Yurika!" he stated cheerfully, stretching out as if to embrace his new freedom. "It's been a while, but now we can go anywhere we want! Anywhere at all!"

"Yes!" replied Yurika, shoving a finger towards the sky with a glorious smile. "And I know where our first stop is!"

Akito smiled inwardly, having seen this coming a mile off. He shifted a bag on his shoulder before saying, "I guess we're going to see an old friend, right?"

Yurika gaped over at him, genuinely stunned that he'd guessed her intentions - it was as if he'd read her mind. "How did you know?" she asked, adopting her clueless expression.

Akito scratched the back of his head. "Well, you've talked about Ruri quite a lot recently. And now that we're out of detention we should at least go check on her, right?"

"Right!" chirped Yurika. "We have to make sure she's okay! I think we owe her that much after everything she's done for us,"

"Yeah," Akito agreed with a nod. "Besides, she's a friend. I don't think I'd feel right until I knew for sure that she was happy with life,"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm trying to say! Oh Akito, you can read me like a book! You understand me better then I understand myself!" 

Laughing softly, Akito placed a fond arm around her and they began walking down the street. "Come on, let's go rent a car."

"Hey wait up!" 

Both of them spun around towards the voice and saw Yukina running up to them, with Minato following at a more leisurely pace. The young Jovian red-head stopped a few paces before them and bent over to regain her breath.

"We're coming too!" she wheezed. 

"Huh?" the pair both exclaimed.

"Mind if we tag along?" asked Minato, walking up behind Yukina and placing her hands affectionately on her shoulders. "We both really want to see Ruri again. We didn't get a chance to speak to her before she left and besides, I owe her an apology."

"I want to see Ruri too," put in Yukina, her gaze resting demandingly on the couple. "I want to talk with her about a few things. So we can come, yeah?" 

"Er, sure, no problem at all," replied Akito quickly. "Right Yurika?"

"No of course not," said Yurika with a slight grin. "I'm sure she'll be really glad to see all of us!"

"Thank you," said Minato, smiling as she bowed. "We appreciate it,"

"So come on, let's go already!" exclaimed Yukina impatiently. "If we don't get moving soon, she'll be asleep by the time we get there and we'll have to wait until _tomorrow_ to see her! Come on, let's move!"

Akito chuckled to himself as they began to walk again – that girl sure was spirited. It surprised him that she was so eager to go since he'd believed that Yukina didn't get on with Ruri. Well, maybe Minato's affection was infectious. He should have guessed that the helmswoman would have wanted to see Ruri again since she had spent as much time as anyone with her aboard the Nadesico. It made sense that she wanted to check up on her. 

As the four walked along the street, he noticed that Yurika seemed a bit subdued. He knew her well enough to know why – while she didn't mind the company of their two new recruits, she would have preferred to be alone with him on this trip. Nevertheless, it was clear that she understood that others wanted to see Ruri too and it would have been selfish to turn them away, especially on a day of such shining fortune. 

Akito himself, on the other hand, didn't mind at all who he was going with – so long as he saw his young friend again. He had to know she was doing okay, she was too important to him just to be severed cold turkey from his life. If nothing else, they had to make sure she knew that she hadn't been forgotten, and that they had spared many a thought for her while in detention. And to say goodbye properly.

__

"It'll be great to see her again. To see how she's getting on in her new situation. I just hope we find a happy girl when we get there."


	20. Twenty

**A/N – Thanks all for the latest reviews! I can't tell you how much I appreciate them. Seriously, without the great support you guys have given me I probably wouldn't have made it this far into the story so really, thanks a lot.   **

**Apologies that this chapter has been a while coming. It took a while to complete because a) I've just started university so my life's a bit hectic at the moment and b) I had some real trouble writing the last section. Anyway, its all finished now so I hope you like it!**

****

**Twenty**

At the moment, Miss Inez Fressange was a very busy woman. Not only was she in the ongoing process of writing up her theories on bosun jumping, incorporating the revelations from Mars, but she now had a new project to work on – decoding the message on the disk given to her by Ai, her younger self. So far neither task was going as well as she'd planned despite the absurd amount of time she was spending each day on both of them. 

            Her lack of success was making her very short-tempered towards other people, not that she'd seen so many over the past couple of weeks. In fact, she'd barely left the darkened hovel of her apartment. That was often the way when she had such important projects on her agenda, but the isolation didn't bother her so long as she was making good progress. This time, that wasn't the case she admitted to herself with a dark frown. With her eyes fixed rigidly on the screen in front of her, she reached down for her mug and took a sip of coffee, only to spit it out when she realised it was two days old.

            Right, that decided it. Stuff that stupid disk – she was taking the afternoon off. It was Sunday after all and maybe some fresh air would make the devilish disk seem a little more comprehensible when she returned.

            Just as she was about to leave her apartment to go for lunch, she remembered that it had been three days since she'd last checked her e-mail. Sitting back down at her computer, she sighed in grim anticipation as she called up her inbox.

            "_Welcome. You have one hundred and sixty-eight new messages,"    _

            "Perfect," muttered Inez, clicking the icon to filter out all non-priority e-mails. That left thirty-two, still a large number, but at least realistic. 

            She scanned her eyes down the list of senders. Predictably most of them were from Nergal, with a few from Chairman Akatsuki himself. Chances were that he was checking on her progress. Well that counted as work so she ignored them for now. None of the others seemed to require urgent attention. Just as she was about to close the program and hit the café, she noticed one strange e-mail near the bottom of the screen. She was amazed to see who its sender was – Ruri Hoshino, the Nadesico's other sane mind. She chewed her lip in puzzlement as she opened it. Why would little Ruri send a priority message to her? It certainly wouldn't be like her to send a personal e-mail, Inez thought with a wry smile.

            _'Dear Miss Fressange. I apologise for interrupting your busy schedule, but I'm afraid I'm in urgent need of assistance and you may be the only person who can help me.'          _

            This _was interesting. It was rare enough for Ruri to struggle, but knowing her she would have to be __really desperate to actually __ask for help from someone else. Inez read on curiously._

            _'To summarise the situation, current circumstances mean that Mr Akatsuki wants me dead and has sent an assassin to kill me,'_

            The sudden shock of reading that caused Inez to jolt, knocking her mouse of her desk. She immediately scanned over the rest of the e-mail, which contained the details of the events leading up to Ruri's current predicament. Her jaw dropped slightly further with every passing sentence – was all this true? 

            Well, it certainly wasn't like Ruri to joke. 

            _"Akatsuki.__ How could you?"_

            All thoughts of lunch and a restful afternoon were instantly discarded as Inez's lashed out for her phone and frantically dialled a number. As the dull tone started up in her ear, she bit her lip anxiously and cursed herself for not checking her mail more often. 

*          *          *

Akito wondered why on earth he was feeling this nervous. All they were doing was visiting an old friend. But then again, it wasn't so simple was it? Ruri had been thrown into this life without any say in the matter and they had no idea as to how she'd adapt to it. Would they find a happy girl revelling in the joy of youth or would they find a miserable one, bitter at being cast aside like nobody wanted her anymore? In Akito's mind the latter was the more likely possibility, though he hadn't admitted it to Yurika. Of course, knowing Ruri's stoic nature it would probably be hard to tell either way. But would she blame them for allowing her to end up here? Probably not, Akito decided, she was far too logical for that. He shook his head clear. There was little point in theorising – he'd learn the answers himself in a few moments when they entered the building in front of them. 

He'd barely pulled up the handbrake before Yurika had exited the car to look up at the long red-brick structure which they knew to be Ruri's home. Her face revealed her distaste clearly and Akito had to agree that it didn't look very welcoming. Its layout was very plain and every window was square and regularly spaced. The namesakes of the facility surrounded the building like seven ominous sentinels, making the atmosphere even more sinister. So much so that even in today's glorious sunshine, the orphanage grounds seemed to embody only darkness.

_            "This is a home for kids? Man, you wouldn't think it," _

"It looks like a prison," Yukina commented, not caring to disguise her disgust. Minato reprimanded her with a disapproving glance.

"Come on, let's go on in," said Yurika, her good humour returning. She took Akito's hand and together they walked through the gates and along the path leading up to the entrance. The other two followed a few paces behind, still looking up at the building. A group of three preteen kids watched them from one corner of the garden, whispering quietly amongst themselves. They seemed particularly interested in Yukina - clearly they thought that the Jovian girl was to be the newest member of their household. 

"Ring the doorbell Akito," Yurika said.

He complied. For several seconds nothing happened, then suddenly they heard the rush of approaching feet from inside and the door was opened by a small tanned boy, no more then ten years of age. He stared up at them with, his dark eyes alight with curiosity.

"Hello?" He said it as a question. 

"Er, hi there," said Yurika, crouching down to speak to him. "We're visitors. Is there a grown-up around who we can talk to?"

"Yeah, hang on," the boy turned and ran off down the hall, shouting out, "MISS NISHIDA!" A moment later a plump elderly woman appeared from a doorway and came their way. She appeared healthier then her form suggested, but she had the look of someone who hadn't slept for days. Despite that, she put on a smile for them as she approached, though Akito could tell that something troubled her beneath it.

"Hello there!" she said, beaming at the group. "Mina Nishida at your service. May I help you?"  

"Er yes," said Akito uncertainly. "I'm Akito Tenkawa and these are Yurika, Minato and Yukina," He scratched the back of his head nervously. "This may seem a little strange but a friend of ours was put in this orphanage a few weeks ago. We were wondering if we could come in and visit her?"

"Well, I don't see any trouble. You seem like decent young folks!" she said cheerfully, revealing some yellowed teeth. "So who is it that you'd like to see?"

"Um, her name's Ruri. Ruri Hoshino," said Yurika, taking over the reins. "She's a quiet girl with white hair and golden eyes?"

Upon hearing that Miss Nishida's face fell dramatically. "Ah. Right," she coughed tentatively. "I'm afraid there's a problem with that,"

"Huh?" they all said in unison. 

"Yes, I'm afraid she isn't here anymore,"

"Not here?" Akito asked, his voice filled with dread. "Then where is she?"

"We don't know," continued the elderly woman, who now looked on the verge of tears. "A couple of nights ago she vanished without a trace,"

"You mean she disappeared, just like that?" Yurika screeched, her bright eyes sticking out like headlamps.    

"Yes," she replied, speaking slowly and cautiously – clearly talking about this was difficult for her. "Yesterday morning she didn't come to breakfast so I went up to look for her and she wasn't there! None of the other children had seen her that morning and we couldn't find her anywhere!"  She gestured helplessly with her left hand. "We've had the police search the whole area, but there's been no sign of her. They believe she's run away," She bit her trembling lower lip then said, "I can't understand why she'd do a thing like that. She was always a very quiet girl, but I always thought that she was happy. I mean, if she was having problems, she could have always come to me. I've always tried to be approachable to the children, it's my job to take care of them. Oh, I'm sorry!" She turned her head away, covering her eyes with a hand. 

The other four all swapped stunned gazes not sure of what to say, do or even think. Ruri had run away? Why? Had she really found it that bad here? Minato was the first to break out of her trance of trepidation to comfort the old lady.

"No, its okay," she said, touching her arm reassuringly. "Please don't blame yourself. Ruri has always been very independent. She probably just left to come look for us. I'm sure nothing was wrong." 

Miss Nishida dabbed at her eyes with a tiny handkerchief, then folded it and returned it to her pocket, giving them a weak smile. "Thank you. I'm sorry, I do tend to get emotional," With a quick shift, she stood up straight, trying to regain her dignity.

"I'm very sorry that you can't see her, but we're doing all we can to try and find her. I'm afraid I can't be any more help, but I can make you a cup of tea if you'd like. Would you like to come through to the games room?"

"Well, if it's no trouble," said Minato, still the only one with enough composure to speak properly. "I could certainly use a nice warm drink," 

"No, it's the least I can do for you. Please, please come this way." She started off through the doorway next to them. 

"Come on Yurika," whispered Akito, taking her limp hand and pulling her along. She didn't say anything, or even wear an expression. Hearing about Ruri's disappearance had shocked her into silence. Clearly guilt and worry were running riot inside her. 

"Aren't you coming Yukina?" Minato asked over her shoulder when she saw that the Jovian girl was still standing in the hallway. 

"Um, I don't think so," she replied, "I want to have a look around before we go,"

"Go on ahead, but stay out of trouble!" said Minato.

"And if you see a boy with short black hair, tell him to tidy his room!" added Miss Nishida.    

"Okay!" said Yukina, dashing off upstairs.

"Always an explorer," muttered Minato to herself as she walked on into the games room.   

*          *          *

"_So Ruri's disappeared eh? Very suspicious!"_

            Yukina trod lightly along the landing, peaking into bedrooms through open doors, or keyholes if they were closed, as she progressed. Though she didn't know Ruri that well, she still found it hard to believe that she would just suddenly vanish into thin air. She must have left some kind of clue for them to follow. Surely she knew that they would come for her once they were free, so she must have left _some lead for them. Of course, to find that lead she first had to locate Ruri's room._

            So far she hadn't had much luck. Every room she'd inspected either contained no sign that it had been Ruri's or had too many other kids in it to permit a closer look. Still, she kept at it, her heightened opinion of her own investigative skills pushing her onward.

_"Phew! Glad I didn't have to come here. It smells like a dump! No wonder Ruri wanted to leave!" _

            Just then she saw the sign she'd been looking for dangling from the ceiling in a room near the end of the landing. Way back when they'd just escaped from Earth, Yukina had briefly seen the inside of Ruri's quarters and remembered the fish mobile well, since it had been the only decorative object in the whole room. Seeing it there was a dead giveaway – this was Ruri's bedroom for sure! Feeling smug at her detective work, Yukina checked both ways down the landing before nipping in to have a closer look.                

            It seemed that most of Ruri's few possessions had been left untouched, probably for the police investigation. There was still a large stack of books on the bedside table, most of them far too advanced for a normal child's mind. This was Ruri's room all right, thought the Jovian girl with a satisfied smirk. The books held no visible clues (which had disappointed Yukina – she'd thought that there might have been a note between the pages), so she turned her attention to the suitcase under the bed. Bringing it out, she flung it open and began to examine its contents. 

            "Hey, who the hell are you?"  
            Yukina yelped and spun right around. Two children stood facing her, both of them girls, perhaps a year or two younger then her. The one who had spoken had harsh blue eyes, high dimples on her face and twin violet plaits hanging behind her, each one ending in a yellow bow. The other one had shorter, sky-blue hair and freckles. Neither of them looked very friendly.   

            Upon seeing them, Yukina's shock died down and she became indignant. How _dare someone younger then her address her like that! She took a step towards them, with her hands on her hips and a frown on her face. _

            "Hey, don't sneak up on me like that!" she snapped, trying to make use of her very slight height advantage.        

            "What are you doing in our room!?" demanded the blue-haired girl, scrutinising her with hostility. 

            "Nothing. I'm just having a look," replied Yukina matter-of-factly.

            "We don't like strangers messing around with our stuff!" said the same girl, not dropping the aggressive glare. "Get out now or we'll tell Miss Nishida!"

            "Yeah!" The purple-haired girl seconded her. 

            Perhaps she should have walked out while she had the opportunity, but Yukina's pride demanded that she stand her ground. She was outnumbered but she wasn't about to let some prepubescent brats boss her around!

            "I'll go where I like!" she snapped. "Why don't you kids go play with your toys and stop bothering me!?"

            "Right, that's it!" declared the blue-haired girl. "I'm getting Miss Nishida!" She turned on her heel and strode off down the landing, leaving Yukina alone with the plaited girl, who was now wrinkling her nose angrily at her. 

            "Crybaby," muttered Yukina under her breath. 

            "Hey, you're not new her are you?" the other girl asked suddenly. There was a slight trace of curiosity beneath the aggression in her tone.  

            "Huh? No way! I'm no orphan!" she exclaimed defiantly. "I only came here to look for my friend!"

            "What?" replied the other girl, visibly startled. "Hey, wait a minute…" For a moment, she squinted at her thoughtfully, chewing her lip and touching her chin with a finger. Then suddenly her eyes rocketed wide open and her jaw plummeted down with a gasp of realisation. 

            "You're Yukina!"

            The Jovian girl had never been so surprised as when she heard this stranger say her name. The shock knocked the breath from her. How on _earth did she know that? Yukina overlooked the logical explanation and said, "Yeah! How did you…"_

            All the purple-haired girl's energy for anger had now been transferred to excitement. Her large eyes shone with wonder as she said, "Then, you're Ruri's friend, right?"

            "Yes, that's right!" Yukina suddenly found herself sharing the exhilaration. "Did you know Ruri?"

            "Know her? I was her roommate until a few nights ago!" she laughed. "I'm Mikoto!"

            "Er yeah hi, I'm Yukina,"

"I know! You're her Jovian friend from the Nadesico!"

            "You mean she told you about me?" Yukina was genuinely surprised. 

            "Of course! She told me all about you and Captain Yurika and Akito and everyone! She showed me photos and everything! Wait a second," she said, pausing. "Are they here too?" 

            "Yeah, Miss Minato, Miss Yurika and Mister Akito are all here…"

            "Really!?" Mikoto's eyebrows flew up her forehead, as if they were trying to take off. She was breathless as she stuttered, "Oh wow, this is so exciting! Can we go see them?"   

            Yukina found it ironic that it was _her wanting to calm __someone else down. This preteen girl was acting like a five-year old on Christmas morning. She replied in a calming voice, "Yeah, yeah in a minute. But first I want to ask you something," She delivered the question that she'd wanted to ask someone for, well, nearly ten minutes now. _

            "Do _you know where Ruri is?"_

            Mikoto's gusto suddenly faded. She was quiet for a second, before saying, "Well not really. She wouldn't tell me," She met the elder girl's eyes. "But I do know a few secrets. Like why she wanted to leave."

            Secrets? Naturally Yukina was intrigued. "I'm listening," she said, infinitely more eager to hear then she sounded. 

            Mikoto poked her head out onto the landing, scanned around, then shut the door. She then came in closer and, using a very soft voice, told her the truth behind Ruri Hoshino's mysterious departure from the orphanage. Yukina listened to every terrifying detail with bated breath. Then, once Mikoto had finished, she nearly broke through the door in her eagerness to get downstairs.  

            "MINATO!"

*          *          *

Normally he was not the kind to get angry easily. When he did it was usually for one of two reasons. The first was when people forced him to fight, even though he never wanted to. The second was Nagure Akatsuki. Sure enough, this time around it was the latter reason that was causing him to slam his fist against the bedside table in rage. 

"That bastard! That lowlife scumbag!" he roared, rage forming glistening beads of sweat on his forehead. He drove his fist down again, his whole body quivering tumultuously and his breathing slow and deadly.

Yurika, who was sitting next to him on Ruri's old bed, had chosen sheer disbelief over anger. "I can't believe Akatsuki would want to kill Ruri," she murmured in wonder. 

"That man has no conscience at all!" declared Minato, horror adding acid to her voice.

After Yukina had dragged them up here to Ruri's old bedroom, the young orphan called Mikoto had told them everything. About how Akatsuki had tried to hire Ruri for some new super battleship, how he had sent an assassin after her when she had refused him and about how she had left the orphanage a couple of nights ago after the second attempt on her life. They had all listened intently throughout her story, not willing to accept the facts they were getting, while at the same time knowing it was the terrible truth.   

"He really sent an assassin to kill her?" Yurika asked softly. Her voice was vague and her eyes were eerily vacant, as if she were in a daydream.

"Ah-huh," said Mikoto, nodding insistently. "I even saw the assassin myself! He broke into the orphanage so he could take her away!"

"Well, this really is news," murmured Minato, contemplatively putting a finger on her left cheek. "I guess it's no wonder that she wanted to leave,"

"That Akatsuki," growled Akito. "He's gone too far this time!" He vaulted to his feet, pushing his fist into his other palm. "I'll kill him! I swear next time I see him…" 

"Please, Akito," pleaded Yurika, breaking out of her trance. "We can deal with Akatsuki later. Our biggest concern is Ruri at the moment."

Yurika's reason seemed to break through Akito's fury, but he was still stewing in his own anger as he roughly sat back down next to her. He had trouble controlling his voice as he said, "Yeah, you're right. But how do we find her?"

"Very good question," said Minato, looking over to the orphan girl. "You said that she didn't tell you where she was going, right?"  

"No, she wouldn't even give me a clue," replied Mikoto. "I tried to make her tell me, but she wouldn't no matter how many times I asked her."

"She could be anywhere by now," murmured Yukina, holding her chin in her hands despondently. 

            "We have to think of where she would want to go," said Minato, staring up into space as she racked her brains. "But nowhere comes to mind. She's never really been allowed to roam free in the world before, so it's hard to even think of a possibility,"

            "Yeah," said Akito, whose tone still contained a hint of rage. "She probably thinks we're still locked up so she probably didn't leave to meet up with us,"  

"Unless she did hear that we'd been freed," put in Yurika suddenly. 

"I don't think so. She left two nights ago and even we didn't know we were being released until today," Akito scratched his chin thoughtfully and ran his eyes around the drab room, looking for inspiration.  

"She left no clues at all?" Yurika asked Mikoto. 

"No, nothing. She definitely had some place in mind, but she wouldn't tell me," She shrugged helplessly. "I don't know if it means anything but she was wearing her Nadesico uniform when she was left. I thought that might mean she was going back to the Nadesico."

The four visitors exchanged a united four-way glance as they considered this. "The Nadesico? Well, it's out of service now so I doubt she'll have gone there," said Akito. 

"What about Nergal?" asked Minato, fretfully pursing her generous lips. "You don't think the fact she was in uniform means she joined Akatsuki after all, do you?" 

Akito grimaced at the thought. "Well there would have been a certain logic to that," he conceded reluctantly. "It would be the only sure way to stop Akatsuki from killing her."

"She wouldn't have joined him. Not after what he's done," stated Yurika. There wasn't a single trace of doubt in her voice. 

"Are you so sure about that?" asked Yukina dubiously.  

Yurika nodded with total conviction. "She knows what Akatsuki is. She knows what he does is wrong. I can't see her joining his cause, even if it did mean saving her own life."

"Yeah, you're right," murmured Akito. "It just doesn't sound like her," 

"This is getting us nowhere!" put in Yukina, scowling in frustration. "There's no way of finding her if she hasn't left us anything to go on," She drew her knees up to her chin. "That idiot…"

            There was a moment of silence as everyone struggled for a useful contribution. None came for a while. Ruri had clearly gone to pains to cover her tracks for obvious reasons, but that made it almost impossible for even her closest friends to find her. There were so many potential locations, but no likely ones. It was hard to even suggest where she could be. Perhaps two minutes of contemplative silence went by before Akito broke it with an abrupt burst of inspiration. 

"Wait a second," he said, suddenly sitting forward. "I've just thought of something. Maybe she _has gone back to the Nadesico."_

All eyes turned to the former pilot. "But why Akito?" asked Yurika. "The ship's been decommissioned. There's nobody there now."

"No, you're wrong," said Akito quietly. "Someone very important to her is still there."

"Who?" Everyone, including Mikoto, asked in unison. 

Akito's expression was grim as he said, "Omoikane."

"Omoikane," repeated Minato, tilting her head back and pondering the idea. "Yes, of course. The computer was closer to her than anyone else. It makes sense that she'd want to see it again."

"Even if she had to break into that UEAF facility?" asked Yurika. 

"Well, knowing Ruri, she could probably work her way around their security," said Akito, spreading his arms indifferently. "It's just a guess, but I really can't see where else she would go. After all, the Nadesico has always been home to her,"

"Well I think that's the best idea yet," said Yukina, bouncing up and down impatiently on the bed. "I say we go and check it out,"

"I agree," said Yurika, grinning gleefully at her boyfriend. "You're so brilliant Akito! I knew you'd work it out eventually!"

"We still haven't found her yet," pointed out Akito. "For all we know she could be on Mars. But searching the Nadesico would be a good first step." 

"So, back to Hiratsuka then?" inquired Minato.

"Yes!" shouted Yurika jumping up on her feet, her face once again alight with her characteristic passion. "We'll go back to the Nadesico and find her before Akatsuki gets his filthy hands on her!"             

"Okay!" said Akito, standing up beside her. "I suppose we'd better get moving," He started towards the door, but then turned back to Mikoto, who had been watching them quietly throughout the whole discussion.  

"Look, thanks for telling us everything. You're a very good friend to Ruri,"

"Yeah, thank a lot!" added Yurika. 

The small orphan girl smiled back at them and gave a tiny shrug. "Hey, no prob! I'm glad I could help in some way, you know?"

"Right. Well we'd better be off," said Akito. He held the door open for Yurika, Minato and Yukina, but before he left the room he dug his hand into his pocket, pulled out a crisp green note and offered it to Ruri's former roommate. 

"Here, take this as a token of our appreciation,"

"Really?" Mikoto eyes became a pair of full moons when she saw how much money it was. She nearly snatched it from his hand in her eagerness. "Aw thanks mister!"

"That's okay, you've earned it. Well, seeya," He raised his hand in farewell before following the three girls out onto the landing. 

"Good luck Mister Akito!" Mikoto called out after him. "When you do find Ruri, tell her I said 'hi'!"

"Will do," he replied, waving one final time as he descended the stairs.

*          *          *

And so the three former Nadesico crewmembers, along with the teenage girl from Jupiter, continued their quest for the precocious albino child by returning to the city they had left earlier that afternoon and the place which they had called home for more then a year. Whether they would find her there was another question entirely. As it turned out, Akito's theory was a reasonably good guess. What they didn't know at the moment was that Ruri had far more on her agenda then just plain survival. 

            The kitten's claws were being sharpened…

**A/N – Just for the record, the blue-haired girl was Tina, Ruri's other roommate, in case you hadn't worked it out. (Like anyone cares!)**

**You know, I've just reread that last section and realised it's quite hard to read because the names are all so similar (Yurika/Yukina and Minato/Mikoto)! Can't be helped I guess. **

**Okay, a bit of bad news. I'm afraid to say that updates are going to be coming a little bit slower since, like I said earlier, I've just begun university so I'm having less time to write. But while new chapters won't be as frequent, they WILL come eventually. Just give me time! To be honest, there's not much further to go until the end (seven chapters by my current plan, two of which are practically written already) and the whole thing will be up by the end of the year, one way or another. **

**In the next chapter, you'll finally find out what Ruri's up to and Yurika has an important announcement to make. Hope to see you then! ^_^**


	21. TwentyOne

**Twenty-One**

            Somewhere, in an unknown location, a young white-haired girl with large golden eyes slowly closed a door behind her, taking extra care not to make a sound. She then locked it and turned to examine the tiny storeroom in which she was now standing. It was no more then six by eight metres and was illuminated by a single light bulb, currently under siege from an army of moths. Shelves lined the walls, each one cluttered with flimsy boxes filled with machine parts, broken tools, dead batteries, several coils of hosepipe, worn fan belts and other assorted junk. A layer of dust coated everything, implying that no-one had come in here for a while. 

            Perfect, it would suit her needs well. She dumped her backpack on the floor, took out her laptop and deftly snapped its screen into position. While she waited for it to start up, she rummaged around in her bag, taking out an extension cable, a few discs and some rope. It was time to get to work.

She set up her terminal quickly and immediately set to finding the information she was looking for. This kind of hacking had become second nature to her by now, so she hardly even had to look at the screen anymore. It took her less then ten minutes for her to find what she was looking for and display it on the screen. 

            The blueprints for what would be the most powerful battleship in the world were there in front of her. Here was the Nergal Five in all its glory.

Running her eyes over the plans, she could see just how powerful this ship was. She counted sixteen full P-T engines. Incredible. The Nadesico had only had four at its peak. Sixteen was ridiculous – this monstrosity had more P-T engines than she had fingers on her hands. What's more, it had two P-T cannons - one on each side of the hull, two multi-barrelled gravity blast cannons and a hanger with enough space to furnish over sixty Aestivalis frames. One couldn't help but be awed by its destructive potential.

_"You cannot be allowed to exist,"_

Ten tiny white finger-tips descended onto the keyboard, united in their common purpose. In contrast, the girl's face was blank and motionless in spite of the significant, but uncertain, consequences her current actions would have of the future of many, many people. 

*          *          *

            It was amazing how the little things changed. Just over a year ago, he'd relied on his bike and public transport to get around. Now here he was behind the wheel of a slick blue convertible, doing eighty miles per hour down the motorway. Sure it was just a rented car, but with the vast sum of money that had built up in his account while he was aboard the Nadesico he could actually afford to buy one himself, should he choose to do so. It was certainly a far cry from his younger days, when he struggled to even make rent. 

            It was now just gone nine o'clock and they were two hours into their journey back to Hiratsuka. Minato had suggested they find a motel then travel back in the morning, but Yurika had wanted to leave tonight, so they could visit the UEAF base and Nadesico hanger first thing tomorrow morning. The others hadn't argued with her. 

            At the moment his girlfriend was asleep in the front passenger seat. Yukina, sitting behind her, was also dozing and Minato was fading fast too. Akito himself was struggling to stay awake and concentrating on the road ahead was becoming harder all the time. 

            _"Don't know if I can stay awake for another two hours," he thought, dismally. _

            That thought was interrupted by a request from the back seat. "Hey Mr Akito? Can we make a bathroom stop?"

            "Sure Yukina," That was actually a very sound idea - he desperately needed a break from driving too. The never-changing road ahead was sending him to sleep.

            The young Jovian girl was grimacing in discomfort. "Soon, yeah?"

            "Yeah, we're not far from a service station," said Akito, reading the large sign by the road. "Can you hold on for ten minutes?"

            "I guess I'll have to!" Yukina muttered, clenching her teeth and fists. Akito winced and put his foot down. 

            Like he had promised, they arrived at the service station ten minutes later. Akito had dropped Yukina off at the entrance, whereupon she'd shot off like a bullet. He'd then taken the car round the back and found a parking spot. Once the car had stopped moving, the two women began to wake up, rubbing their eyes and yawning. 

            "Are we there already?" Yurika asked sleepily, but then answered her own question when she saw the service station. 

            "No, we've a while to go yet," said Akito, helping her out. 

            The three adults walked over to the small service station. By the looks of things it had little more than a seedy café, a shop (closed), a petrol station and a few run-down arcade machines. The neon sign at the entrance had long since burnt out and the sticky floor clearly hadn't been cleaned for many a month. Akito wasn't very impressed and had he been on his own, he would have turned on his heel and driven on to another place.    

"I'll go and find Yukina," said Minato as they walked through the automatic doors. "Why don't you two get us a table in the café? I don't know about you, but I'm starving!"

            "Yeah, we never did get around to dinner, did we? Sure, we'll meet you there," said Yurika. Minato smiled at them and walked off. 

            The couple entered the café. At this late hour it was empty, but still open for business. A pungent burnt smell hung in the air – unpleasant to most people, but to a chef like Akito it was disgusting. The atmosphere wasn't exactly great either, with flickering lights, tacky decor lining the walls and cheesy retro music quietly piping from somewhere in the room. A solitary waitress sat in the corner, chewing gum and reading a magazine. She glared at them as they were entered, obviously not relishing the prospect of having to serve someone this late at night. Nevertheless, Akito sat down at one of the tables by the window. Yurika sat down opposite him without a word. With a loud sigh of exasperation the waitress came over, took their order (grunting after each item to show her disinterest) and trudged off back to the kitchen.  

"Not been a good day for her, has it?" said Akito with a quick laugh. Yurika smiled back at him, but remained silent.

            Over the course of his time on the Nadesico, Akito had become pretty good at reading Yurika thoughts from her body language. Of course most of the time it was obvious since she was typically so open with her feelings, but when she did become more introverted, Akito could usually work out why. This time it was clear that she was worried about Ruri, but it wasn't just that. Akito knew there was something else there – kind of a more immediate nervousness in addition to the underlying worry. He could tell from the way she kept on twitching her fingers and constantly swapped her gaze from him, to her placemat, then over to the kitchen. Yes, she was anxious about something. There was something she wanted to say to him, but hadn't yet plucked up the courage. Akito let his inner smile show on his face – it would have to be something _really big for Yurika to be tense in front of him of all people. He thought he knew what it was about, but he didn't let that on yet. He did, however, decide to give her a nudge._

            "Are you feeling okay, Yurika?"

            "Yes, I'm fine Akito dearest," she said with a forced smile. The waitress interrupted them by setting their drinks down roughly in front of them. Yurika instantly picked up her lemonade and drank half the glass in one long, nervous swig. Then, as if the drink had given her some inner strength, she interlinked her fingers, adopted her 'serious, but emotional' voice and spoke.       

            "Akito, there's something I've been meaning to ask you about," 

            He'd seen this coming a mile off. He'd waited a good few weeks for her to make this confession, and therefore knew what the question, and his eventual reply, would be. Despite that, he forced himself to appear curious. 

            "What is it Yurika?"

            Yurika hesitated. "Akito, I…" she started apprehensively, before cutting herself off by placing her connected index fingers on her mouth. 

            "Go on," urged Akito. 

            Yurika swallowed, took a deep breath and then forced out the phrase. 

            "I want to adopt Ruri."

            Even though he'd been expecting it, he didn't have to fake the immediate shock on his face at actually hearing her _say it. He initially remained silent, showing astonishment on the outside while he inwardly congratulated himself for guessing it right. When he looked over to her again he saw something close to terror in Yurika's eyes. She had ceased all movement and breathing as she awaited his all-too-important response. She had never been as good at reading him as he could her, Akito noted with a private chuckle. He decided to put her out of her misery. _

"Yurika," he murmured, bringing his hand forward and warmly placing it on top of hers. "I would love to do that for her,"     

            Her reaction was electric. First her face rocketed into an insanely happy grin and she started laughing. Then without warning she suddenly hurled herself across the table and smothered him with her arms.

            "Oh Akito!" she exclaimed, delightedly pulling him close. "Really? You're okay with it?"

            "Yeah, absolutely," said Akito, struggling to speak with her unyielding hold on him. "But there a few conditions I want to run by you first."

            "Huh?" Yurika drew away so she could face him, her eyes wide with curiosity and just a bit of anxiety.

            "Yeah," Akito coughed, feeling guilty to have burst her bubble of instant happiness so quickly. However, a few things had to be addressed before he could give a definite 'yes'.

"Er, you're sure you've thought this through right?" he started uneasily. "You're not just doing it out of sympathy for her, are you?"

            "No, I really have given it enough thought," said Yurika, without even the tiniest shred of doubt in her voice. "To tell the truth I've been thinking about it ever since I heard she was in an orphanage. You have to believe me, Akito! I _want her to be our daughter!" Her face was creased up with desperation as she said, "Don't you want that too?"_

            "Yes I do Yurika, I'm with you one-hundred percent," said Akito. "But remember that this is Ruri's life we're talking about. It should be her decision. The last thing I want to do is to force her to join our family against her will." He met Yurika's eyes again. "Let's not forget she already has parents. She may want to go back to them instead." He spread his arms. "Hell, for all we know she already _has gone back to them!" _

            "No," Yurika shook her head. "She hasn't."

            Akito regarded her with narrow, scrutinising eyes. "How come you are so sure?"

            "Well if she really thought they could be a family to her, wouldn't she have gone to them in the first place and not the orphanage?" said Yurika, leaning forward as she posed that thought. "Besides, do you remember what she was like when she came back from Peaceland? She wouldn't speak to anyone about it! It was as if she just wanted to forget about it and pretend it never happened."

            "Well, yeah," admitted Akito. He knew that more then anyone. He'd spent an awkward ten minutes waiting in the courtyard of the palace of Peaceland while Ruri had gone to tell her family that she was leaving them to return to the Nadesico. When she had returned, her face had been strictly emotionless even by her standards. She hadn't even looked back as they left. Yurika was definitely making a good case here.           

"_We're the only family she has, Akito!" she cried, clutching her hands to her chest. "She doesn't know anyone else! It's our duty to give her a real life!" She bowed her head slowly and continued in a subdued, almost gloomy voice. _

"And I really want to give it to her you know. I really do."

Well, that did it for him. Whether it was the deep emotion in her voice, her atypically sound reasoning or some inner fatherly instinct, he knew that he had been convinced and from then on his life would change forever. Having resolved the matter in his own mind, he set both his hands on Yurika's shoulders. At his touch, she slowly brought her eyes up to his, her lips parted in anticipation. 

"Okay, Yurika," he said calmly. "Let's do it. Let's adopt Ruri."

Yurika didn't reply with words. She let her rising smile speak for her. Then a second later she too rose to place her arms around Akito and kiss him with a passion that told him just how much this meant to her. 

As he felt Yurika's lips press against his own, Akito's mind was struck by the implications of his agreement. He knew from that moment onward he would see Ruri in a very different light. Yurika too for that matter. A month ago, all three had been just friends and co-workers. Now they planned to unite as a family; father, mother and daughter. Their roles would shift so their bonds would strengthen. Ruri would share in the joy that he and Yurika had found in each other. A new life for all three waited in limbo, one which could bring great happiness to each one of them. All it needed to become a reality was a positive response from Ruri. 

Wherever she was.

*          *          *

            Akatsuki was annoyed. Right now he felt just like he had when the Jovians had destroyed his Shakuyaku before it could even launch. A huge investment of time, money and resources had been reduced to nothing in an instant. And it was the same with Ruri's assassination. That obstinate brat could have been so useful at the helm of his glorious battleship. But she'd chosen filthy death over his generous offer. No-one could argue that she hadn't deserved her fate, but the chairman of Nergal still saw it as a gigantic waste of potential.

            They'd already assigned a replacement for her – some company guy who'd apparently been their computer-systems administrator for four years now. Erina had assured him earlier that he was a real computer whiz, and his personal files backed up her statement. But nevertheless, he was mere cloth compared to Ruri's silk. Good workers could be found anywhere. Akatsuki had wanted the very best for his project. 

            He'd tried hard to think positively. It was the Nergal Five that would defeat the Jovians, not Ruri alone. At the end of the day, a P-T cannon would be just as devastatingly destructive not matter who fired it. So while Ruri wouldn't be with them, the operation was still a guaranteed success. But it irked Akatsuki that Ruri wasn't with them – she'd been part of his perfect vision for this project. He'd wanted to take the ultimate crew-member and use her to her full potential. And he'd been confident that she'd agree to work with him, on the grounds she would be fulfilling the purpose she had been born to, not to mention the fact she had nowhere else to go. But he'd underestimated the effect that her Nadesico crewmates had had on her. During their time together, they'd given her many virtuous beliefs. Beliefs which had killed her in the end. Such a waste of brilliance, for such trivial principles.

            Why worry about something you couldn't change, he kept telling himself. He'd made his decision and he had to stick by it. There was no turning back now, the only way was onwards and upwards. Akatsuki tried to focus on the on-screen documents to take his mind off the Ruri situation. Four papers needed to be read and signed before tomorrow, if the N5's development was to progress according to schedule. He'd barely begun reading the first of them when he was interrupted by his personal communicator. 

            _"Sir, you're receiving an incoming call from an anonymous caller,"_

            Akatsuki exhaled in annoyance. "Put him through," he grumbled, taking a sip from the glass on his desk.

            The communication screen flashed up instantly. Akatsuki choked on his wine when he saw the familiar face on the display. 

            "You seem surprised to see me Mr. Akatsuki," stated Ruri, not blinking once. 

Akatsuki tried, with difficulty, to assume his standard composure. Setting his wine glass down, he crossed his legs and sat back. "Frankly I am, Miss Hoshino. I was under the impression that you wanted nothing to do with Nergal. Have you finally had a change of heart?"

"Hardly," said the albino girl. "But I need to meet with you urgently,"

"By all means Ruri, dear." Akatsuki said. "Anything for an old friend. Why don't we do lunch tomorrow? It won't take more then an hour, will it? I'm a busy man you know."                   

"How about right now?" Ruri asked, her face motionless except for her mouth. 

"Huh?" 

In that moment the communication screen vanished and a muffled scuffling came from somewhere in the room. Then Akatsuki watched disbelievingly as the grill covering the ventilation shaft fell off the wall with a metallic 'clang', allowing a familiar young girl with white hair and golden eyes to crawl out and lower herself to the floor. The Nergal chairman gaped as she walked casually towards him, dusting herself off as she did so.

"Well, you sure know how to make an entrance," Akatsuki murmured as the girl approached him. "You know, you could have come in the conventional way if you'd let me know you were in the city."

            "It wouldn't have been wise to let you know where I was," replied Ruri, standing before his desk with her arms by her side. "I didn't want you to try anything stupid."

            "Why, whatever do you mean?"

            "I mean getting another of your hired goons to make another attempt on my life." Ruri's expression was set in stone. "Don't deny it Mr Akatsuki. I know what you tried to do."

            Akatsuki considered pressing the alarm button under his desk, but then decided against it. He could deal with an eleven year-old girl, even a prodigal one. "I swear I don't know what you're talking about," he said, making a casual motion with his arm. "Are your suspicions getting the better of you again?" 

            "No. I know for a fact that you sent an assassin after me. I met him twice. But in any case, that doesn't matter now," Ruri continued steadily. "What needs to be resolved is between you and me,"

            "What is there to resolve if you're not signing up for the N5?"    

            "Our little conflict," she replied simply. With that, she reached into her uniform and brought out something which made Akatsuki gasp in horror. Ruri's hands were freakishly steady as she raised the sleek black pistol so that it was aiming directly at his chest.

            "It's time to level the score," she whispered, her voice reflecting the deadly ice of her expression.


	22. TwentyTwo

**A/N – Sorry for the wait! I took my time on this chapter, not only because of all the other things going on in my life, but because its one of the key scenes of the story and I wanted it to be as good as I could make it. Will Ruri kill Akatsuki? Read on to find out… **

****

**Twenty-Two**

There was nothing in those brilliant golden eyes. No hatred, no fear, not even uncertainty. Just pure, unyielding indifference. As if what she was doing right now was no more then a routine task for her. That lack of anything resembling emotion was as deathly chilling as the weapon clasped in her colourless fingers.             

She hadn't fired yet, just stood there motionless with the pistol trained on him. Akatsuki didn't mistake her hesitance for indecision – it was clear she knew exactly what she was doing. He knew for a fact that she'd had no arms training, but from this range she couldn't miss. What's more, though she was close, she was deliberately standing far enough away so that he couldn't disarm or tackle her, at least not before she could get a shot in. She'd even remembered to take the safety off – something which most untrained gunmen forgot. She'd observed every little detail. This wasn't a murder of madness, this was a carefully planned assassination. Akatsuki cursed emphatically within himself as he conceded that he was at her mercy. Of course, there was no was he was going to let her know that. 

            He tried to look relaxed, casually sitting back with his glass in his hand. Traitorous beads of sweat were collecting on his forehead, but he was able to speak with clarity and composure when he addressed her. 

            "Oh Ruri, Ruri, Ruri," he said light-heartedly, as if chiding his own child for a minor misdeed. "What on Earth do you think you are doing?" He took a leisurely slug of wine and placed the empty glass on his desk, never losing his cool expression. As he retrieved his hand, he moved it under the desk and lightly touched the alarm button. With a weapon now in the equation, it was time to call for back-up. 

            "I have come to get even," replied Ruri with icy calm. "You have done much to upset me, Mr Akatsuki. I already had enough reason to hate you. You betrayed us all on the Nadesico, supported the erasure of Omoikane's self-awareness and shoved me into an orphanage as part of your own malicious scheme. But that wasn't enough for you. You wanted to take my life as well." Her fingers tightened on the pistol. "I will never forgive you for that." 

            "Poor, misguided Ruri. You think I'm the cause of all that's wrong in your life?" said Akatsuki, keeping his condescending manner. He was playing for time now – his security team would be here in seconds and this charade would end, finally marking his victory over this bothersome young girl. Would he kill her outright or take her as his prisoner? Probably the latter, he decided. It would be fun to watch her suffer before him for her impudence. 

"You really must not think much of me to make me such a scapegoat," he continued. "But I doubt killing me will solve your problems."

"No. In fact, it would create as many problems as it would solve," Ruri was saying, her tone as blank as ever. "But I am prepared to deal with that." Her index finger moved onto the trigger and for a horrible moment Akatsuki thought she was going to shoot. He fired off some words, hoping to stall her. 

"Calm down Ruri. Don't do something you'll regret," 

Although she didn't fire, she didn't lower the gun either so Akatsuki continued with whatever phrases he could drag from his mind. "We can resolve this situation without bloodshed, Ruri. We can talk about things like civilised human beings," He patted a spot on the desk before him encouragingly. "Just put down the gun and we'll discuss it. You have nothing to fear from me. I give you my word that you'll leave the building safely."             

Ruri cocked her head – the first change in her posture since she'd brought the gun out. "I really don't know whether to be amused that you expect me to trust you or insulted that you think I'd come here without planning my way out first. Believe me, I have prepared well Mr Akatsuki. I had to disable nearly all the security systems in the building to get in here." She gave a small nonchalant shrug. "Naturally, I also dealt with that button under your desk."

            "_Fuck," Akatsuki concealed his shock by slipping his fingers over his mouth. The brat had truly planned out every little detail and had the situation firmly in her grasp. Without his guards to protect him, he was left completely to his own devices. Then it was time to put his pride aside – if he wanted to live he'd have to reason his way out of this. Setting his teeth, he asked her, "What do you want?" _

            "What do I want?" Ruri shrugged indifferently. "Personally, I want my old life back, but since I can't have that, I suppose I don't really know what I want. But whatever it is, I doubt you'll be the one to provide it." She made an ominous gesture with the gun. 

            "Don't be a fool!" shouted Akatsuki, desperation setting in now. "I can give you money! Power! You know the influence I have Ruri! I can make you a Goddess! With our talents combined, we'll have the world…"

            Ruri fired. 

            It all happened so quickly that it took him several seconds to figure it out. Firstly she'd adjusted her aim and pulled the trigger. He heard the shot and instinctively pushed himself away from his desk on his chair. Three seconds of madness passed in his mind before he realised that there was no pain anywhere meaning he hadn't been hit. Another two seconds passed as his head snapped left to see the smoking bullet hole in the wall behind him – it was high and wide and wouldn't have hit him even if he hadn't moved. Finally, he looked back over to Ruri. Her expression and posture both remained unchanged. If she'd been affected by the recoil at all, she'd recovered by now and was ready to fire again. 

            She'd shot to miss. What the _hell was she playing at?        _

            After the shock, Akatsuki found himself breathing heavily and unable to speak, but it was Ruri who wanted to do the talking. Her words came frosted with cold, deadly purpose. 

            "Do you understand what it is to die?" she murmured softly.  

            "What are you talking about?!" snapped Akatsuki, fear making him speak in haste. 

            "Consider your own mortality, Mr Akatsuki. How the immense importance of your life is contradicted by its own fragility. Think of the value you place on your own life and ambitions. Think of what you would lose, were I to kill you now." 

Though he had no idea of what she hoped to accomplish with her words, his brain automatically processed them and produced some disturbing results. Ruri had power over his entire future. It was such an incredible and terrifying concept. From this range, this tiny, pasty girl, holding the pistol comically in both hands, was just as deadly as any assassin or Jovian attacker he had ever faced. A single twitch of her finger would send all his dreams, ambitions and achievements to the grave. History would not see Nagure Akatsuki as the valiant Aestivalis pilot or the formidable leader of the world's most powerful corporation – he would be the Nergal chairman who had been ludicrously assassinated by a little girl who he'd ticked off in the process of his schemes. No, he _couldn't go out like this!_

            "_What are you doing?!" he suddenly shouted, this realisation fuelling sudden anger. _

            "It's not much fun having your life manipulated by someone else, is it Mr Akatsuki?" murmured Ruri, regarding him calmly. "While we can't always control our own lives, we should at least be given the basic freedom to make our own decisions from the limited options available to us and choose our own path. You denied that to me. And so I will deny that same freedom to you." She purposefully raised her pistol so it was now aimed at Akatsuki's face. 

            "Now I grow tired of talking. It is time for me to end this." 

            Akatsuki couldn't think of anything to say in response as he stared dumbly down the barrel of the gun. There was no way he could bribe, threaten or reason his way out of this. The girl knew exactly what she wanted to do. She had both the means and the right to end his life. Well, if it was time for him to leave, he would go with dignity. Let no-one say that Nagure Akatsuki was a coward in the face of death. His face was regal and his voice unwavering as he spoke his last words.  

"Finish it then Miss Hoshino. Take your revenge," 

            "Revenge?" said Ruri, slowly shaking her head back and forth with eyes closed. "No. This isn't about revenge." 

She lowered the gun. Remaining expressionless, she flicked open the bullet chamber allowing the remaining bullets to sprinkle out onto the floor with a series of high 'clinks'. Akatsuki watched them scatter about chaotically, then transferred his gaze to the child before him, his normally thin eyes widening to unnatural levels. 

"This is compassion. You'd do well to learn it Mr Akatsuki." 

Akatsuki gaped dumbfounded at her as she tossed the, now harmless, gun onto his desk and turned her back on him. Without another word or glance, she strode over towards the ventilation opening through which she'd entered. The Nergal chairman struggled to create words, his mind still trying to grasp what had just happened and just how close to death he had come.  "You're leaving?" he eventually stammered. 

            "I've done what I came to do," replied Ruri, not deigning him a look as she pulled over a chair and put it under the shaft entrance. "There is no reason for me to stay any longer." Climbing onto the seat and standing up on tiptoe, she reached up and grasped the edge of the opening, ready to pull herself up. 

            "Hey, wait a second there Ruri," said Akatsuki, standing up behind his desk. At his request, Ruri released her grip and looked around at him, questioningly. Without the gun, she once again looked like the little computer operator that Akatsuki had once known. It was hard to believe she had threatened his life just a few seconds earlier. 

            "You never meant to kill me?" he asked with real curiosity. 

            Disgust filled Ruri's voice as she muttered, "I'm not like you Mr Akatsuki. Murder is not my method and never will be." 

            "But wait, I don't understand," said Akatsuki, regarding her inquiringly.

"Are you seriously telling me you came all this way into Hiratsuka and broke into Nergal just to teach me a lesson in decency?!" He snorted disdainfully, his typical arrogance now restored.

            As it turned out, Akatsuki would regret asking that question for the rest of his life. For the response when it came froze his blood. 

            "Not just for that,"

She turned right around to completely face the Nergal chairman, who was gazing at her quizzically. Meeting his eyes with her own, she continued.                     

"I knew that no matter what I said or did, you would never abort your Nergal Five project of your own free will. I decided to take some action by myself."

Horror and panic flooded through Nagure. He opened his mouth, closed it again, then spoke dangerously through gritted teeth. "What have you done?" 

Ruri shrugged slightly. The movement contrasted the significance of her following words. 

"I accessed the Nergal network and sent all files pertaining to the N5 project to the Earth Government and the UEAF."

"You did _what?!" After a moment of comprehending the implications of her words, Akatsuki disbelief turned to aggression and he slammed his hands down on his desk. "No. __No! You didn't! You can't have!"_

"Better believe it," murmured Ruri coolly.

Spluttering in incredulity Akatsuki said, "You have no idea what you've just done! With the Government's new stance for peace…"          

            "…they'll not look on your plans for a new super battleship too favourably," Ruri finished the sentence for him. "That was the idea. With any luck they'll put an end to your idiotic scheme once and for all,"

            Akatsuki sank down to his chair, despair killing off his strength. So much had hinged on the construction of the Nergal Five remaining secret. He had known for the very beginning that Nergal would never be allowed to possess such a powerful weapon, no matter what the circumstances. That's why he'd gone to obscene levels to keep the development concealed from them. If Ruri was speaking the truth then not only would they know of its existence, but also every detail about it, such as where it was being built and how powerful it would actually be. Essentially, they'd know as much about the ship as he did himself. And he could be sure that now they would never allow it to see the light of day. The depression of that thought drained him of all fury. 

            "Unbelievable. Just unbelievable," he murmured, resting his head in his hands. "The only chink in our armour and you managed to exploit it." He turned his gaze accusingly on Ruri. "What's even more incredible is how you're still willing to shield our Jovian foes from the power of justice. Was that done out of compassion too?" A trace of mockery hung in his voice.    

            "Yes it was. No matter how many lives they took in the process of that senseless war, they do not deserve to be completely annihilated. And they certainly don't deserve to die just to fulfil your perverse ambitions Mr Akatsuki."

            "That wasn't for you to decide!" snapped Akatsuki forcibly. "You have no idea of how deep the consequences of this could go! This could ruin me Ruri!"

            Ruri shrugged. "You should consider yourself lucky. I could have taken your life today. Compared to that, anything else you might lose is minor. Don't you think?" 

Turning away from him, she reached up for the shaft entrance again. "I'll leave you to consider that. Goodbye Mr Akatsuki." Then, in one nimble movement, she hauled herself up and was gone, like a cat through a flap. 

Akatsuki watched her leave and remained staring vacantly at the ventilation opening for several minutes even after she'd gone, his head stewing with worthless thoughts. It is a bitter pain that a man feels when he knows that his ambitions have been crushed. But while disappointment prevailed over everything else within him, there was an inner voice telling him that ultimately, justice had been dealt today by the tiny white hand of Ruri Hoshino. 

**A/N – Don't know what you guys thought of that, but it was really fun to write! Ruri's finally got even with Akatsuki! I've been looking forward to this chapter for a long time! ^_^**

**By the way, if anyone was silently urging Ruri to snuff him out, shame on you! Would you want our little Ruri to sink to Akatsuki's level, thinking she could solve a problem by killing someone? Ruri isn't a murderer. She never intended to kill Akatsuki, she just wanted to demonstrate a point. **

**So where do we go from here? Well, Akito and Yurika still haven't found their potential daughter. Akatsuki takes out his anger on a certain someone and Ruri is now on her way to meet an old friend. However, as it turns out she has overlooked a vital detail which will make her vulnerable to her enemies once again…**

**Just five chapters to go now! Expect things to get dramatic as we approach the conclusion! ^_^**


	23. TwentyThree

**A/N – Thanks again for all the reviews! Very much appreciated. I'm afraid this is just a connecting chapter really, to set things up for the final scenes. Enjoy it anyway though.**

**Twenty-Three**

Erina was a hot-head by nature. When things started to go pear-shaped, she would sooner burst into a fit of anger than shrivel up in hopeless despair. Rage was much more effective for getting people to set things right again, while misery accomplished nothing. In spite of that, right now all she wanted to do was curl up in the corner and cry her heart out. 

            She had arrived at the building this morning at nine o'clock sharp and had barely sat down at her desk before Akatsuki had called her into his office. An early meeting was usual enough to set the agenda for the day, so at first she was oblivious to its true purpose. However, she soon detected something was amiss when she entered the chairman's office. Although he seemed calm enough, Erina read his air and detected something dangerous in it. No doubt about it, something had happened. Something bad.

After greeting him with a respectful bow, she'd taken her seat and rested her hands on her lap. She'd kept her expression neutral, ready to mould into whatever expression the situation demanded. Her employer had leaned forward towards her, his fingers interlocked and his mouth, a grim set line. 

            "Last night, I had a rather interesting meeting with someone you know," he'd said. 

            "I didn't think you had anything scheduled for yesterday evening," Erina had said tentatively. She'd known that for a fact. She _was his secretary after all.  _

"Oh no, it was quite unexpected," he'd said, his voice perilously low. "In fact I thought you might be able to shed some light as to how it came about. You see, it mystifies me as to how an eleven year-old girl, who just yesterday you assured me was dead, could break into my office and threaten me with a God-damned pistol!" By the end of the sentence he'd been shouting. 

"No, that's impossible!" she'd protested. "It can't be! My source informed me! Ruri was…"

"Clearly not as dead as you thought!" Akatsuki had snapped. "Thanks to your incompetence she lived to endanger both myself and the company. And do you know what the best thing is?!" 

Erina couldn't bring herself to ask. Akatsuki had inflicted the answer on her anyway. 

"While in the building she accessed our network, including some of our most secret files. She sent out a few e-mails and now every high-ranker in the UEAF knows about the Nergal Five project!"

"No!" Erina had gasped in defiant disbelief. "That can't be! How did she…?" 

_"That is precisely what I'd like to know!" roared the chairman of Nergal, rising up towards her with the full force of his temper. His fiery eyes had burnt her like the coals of hell as she sat there as a helpless victim to his wrath. _

From there the conversation had gone downhill. 

He'd inflicted his rage on her for another five minutes before eventually dismissing her with a fatal wave of his hand. To her credit, Erina had held her tears in until she had reached the safe refuge of her own office, but once she'd closed the door behind her, she'd fallen to her knees and wept like a child. And now, an hour down the line, she was sitting at her desk with head in hands, her face horrific with tears and smeared make-up.      

            Just a moment ago, the head security guard had reported to her, informing her of the exact details of Ruri's infiltration. As it turned out, she'd entered the basement through the sewer beneath the building and then set up her laptop in a storeroom so that she could hack into the Nergal mainframe. From there, she'd subtly tampered with aspects of the security system, disabling every motion sensor in the building and causing many surveillance cameras to display pre-recorded footage, rather then any live material. Then, she'd ascended to the right floor using the fire escape before using a ventilation shaft to access Akatsuki's office and threaten him with a pistol she'd acquired from the armoury on the fifth level. Every step had been so simple, but all together they had formed a brilliant process.

To be honest, she'd never expected Ruri to do something like this. She'd known the girl – she was incredibly skilled at what she did, but she'd always had a kind of comforting predictability about her. She did her job with efficiency, but not imagination, making her seem harmless in Erina's eyes. In truth, she'd thought Akatsuki had been overreacting when he'd wanted her killed, but this incident had proved her wrong. More wrong then she could have ever thought possible.

She knew the key rule of success in the corporate world well, since it dominated her life. You ascended with results, not effort. It didn't matter that she'd everything in her power to do her job. It didn't matter that it had been the incompetence of her hired assassin that had allowed Ruri to live. It was only the fact that she had survived to threaten his person and the company that Akatsuki saw. And hell, why shouldn't he be mad? Erina's efforts hadn't killed Ruri, they had served to provoke her into taking action against Nergal, like a wasp that stings if you don't crush it with your first slap. And now, the Nergal Five project was hanging by a thread, all thanks to her failure to do her job.  

"_How on Earth did this happen to me? Why has everything gone wrong?"_

Well, the answer to that was clear. Turned out Ruri had more mettle then she'd given her credit for. 

Damn her. 

Though currently distressed, Erina was not weak and certainly not one to throw in the towel. She was already taking steps towards her redemption. It was obvious what her first move should be – completing the job she should have done in the first place. Akatsuki would never forgive her until she presented him with Ruri's head on a silver platter. Though circumstances would make it trickier then before, it was still within her ability and that meant she had to try. As it had turned out, locating her was no problem at all. Through her whole well-crafted plan, Ruri had overlooked one thing. 

The tracer in her Nadesico communicator. 

Through her blurred vision, she'd watched as the blinking red dot had slowly moved across her computer screen, matching what would be Ruri's movements across the city. The signal emitted by the beacon was strong, allowing Erina to trace her as accurately as to the nearest building. She had been watching patiently for a half-hour now, and now, finally, the red dot had stopped moving. Ruri had reached her destination. The Nergal secretary noted it and rebuked herself for not guessing it beforehand.   

Ruri had returned to the Nadesico.

There was no way of knowing what she hoped to gain from returning to the decommissioned ship, but if she intended to stay there, Erina had a clear shot at her life. Even though she was within that UEAF facility, she was an easy target so long as she stayed put. But only if she acted now, before the UEAF found her first. 

The biggest challenge wasn't the process of assassinating her – that could be accomplished easily enough – it was overcoming the emotional torment of having to make this decision _again. It had been difficult enough before, but now it was really tearing her up inside. Because this time, it truly was __her choice to make. __She would be the murderer, not Akatsuki. This time she could walk away without anyone blaming her for it. She shook her head in exasperation, as if trying to shake all her doubts out of her mind. How could she turn away from her one chance of regaining favour with Akatsuki?   _

Her jeopardised career versus a child's life. It was a contest Ruri could not win. 

More tears welled up in her eyes as she opened the communication channel. No matter what the circumstances, this was one thing that didn't get easier with experience. 

*          *          *

"_What do you mean not good enough!?" Matador had screamed in fury. "__She's dead! There was no way she could have survived in that river!"_

The woman's voice on the other end of the line had replied with professional calmness. "_You have not provided satisfactory evidence of her death. Our contract clearly stated that payment was on the condition of provision of photographic evidence. Furthermore our sources report that her body has not yet been found," _

"_You have to be fucking kidding me!" he'd raged. _

"_I apologise, but you have not met with our conditions. There is nothing more for me to say to you. Goodbye."_

_"No! Don't you hang up on me you evil bitch!" he'd shouted. But she already had. _

He remained by the communicator, breathing heavily for four full seconds. That was as long as he could contain his fury. Then, with a frenzied yell, he'd shoved the communicator off the table, and unleashed a storm of profanity to the heavens. Unable to control himself for extreme frustration, he wreaked havoc on the wall of his apartment with his fists, until both his energy and rage were spent. Then a surprising calm had come over him as he sat back, anxiously lit up a cigarette and waited for the Ferzas to come for money which he didn't have. 

And come they did, right on the stroke of midnight. Naturally they weren't too thrilled to hear that he wouldn't be able to pay them due to his client's refusal to cough up the cash. He'd pleaded with them for more time – had even got down on his knees. After that hadn't impressed them, he'd offered them what little money he did have - all that remained of the up-front payment. This had cut a bit more mustard with them so they'd been lenient with him. They'd only broken two of his ribs in the savage beating they'd given him. 

That had been yesterday night. 

Morning light poured mercilessly through the gaps in the blinds, painfully confirming his shattered reality. Matador, slouched in the corner of the room, grasped his face with his hands and moaned in anguish. He _really didn't want to face the day._

Forcing himself to stand, he lugged his battered body through the sea of broken furniture and into his tiny kitchen. He snatched up a milk carton and drank straight from it, cringing as the liquid flowed down his damaged throat, before throwing it behind him and plunging his face down against the table in despair.  

It shouldn't be like this. If things had gone to plan he would have killed the girl, got the money, repaid the Ferzas and be living the high life. As it was he was raw from beating, penniless, his apartment was trashed and he no longer had vision in his right eye. All because the girl had died on her own terms. He immediately threw that notion from his mind. He was a danger to himself when he thought like that.

He rose again, dragged himself into his bathroom and stood before the sink, staring vacantly at his reflection in the cracked mirror. His face, once youthfully handsome, was now marred by his wounded eye, which was swollen shut and turning a revolting shade of purple. Not only had it been blinded, but it burned hellishly every time he touched or tried to open it. It had done ever since that girl had rammed that shard of glass into it. Fuck, did _all his suffering lead back to her?!_

Against all common sense he reached up and touched the hideous wound. In retaliation his eye discharged some white pus, which ran down onto his cheek. Matador scowled in disgust. _"Damn that bitch to hell!"  In utter repulsion at his own image, he drew his fist back and inflicted seven years bad luck on himself. _

            He returned into the main room, grimacing as he picked splinters of glass out of his bloodied fist. He'd barely taken two steps inside when a high pitched beep emitted from across the room. Matador moved his gaze over to his communicator, still on the floor where he had thrust it the night before. The green light on top of it was flashing recurrently, indicating an incoming transmission. Instantly curious, he picked it up, set it back on the table and accepted the call. Hell, there was no way it could make his life worse, no matter what it was. 

The screen that flashed up displayed nothing but static. The voice wasn't much clearer either – it was deep and distorted, with a kind of mechanical tone. 

_"Ruri Hoshino is on the Nadesico." it stated. _

"_Hoshino?" Matador thought. Of course, that had been the girl he had failed to kill. "Who is this?!" he demanded, leaning in closer to the device. _

No answer came. Instead the voice repeated its phrase in exactly the same tone as before. "_Ruri Hoshino is on the Nadesico."_

"Hoshino. On the Nadesico?" Matador said aloud, registering the words this time. All interest of the caller's identity faded as he realised what he was being told. That girl was alive. Somehow, she was alive. And he'd just been informed of her exact location.  

_"Ruri Hoshino is on the Nadesico."_

Suddenly overcome with purpose, he darted into his sleeping room and hurriedly kitted himself out in his dark assassin gear. With excited haste, he bandaged his injured fist, tied a black bandana around his head to cover his ruined eye, shoved his trusty pistol into its holster and shouldered his assassin's pack. He was ready within ninety seconds.  

With a snarl of passion, he bolted from his apartment with only one destination in mind. He no longer cared about his injuries, nor that this tip-off could be part of a well-crafted trap. All he knew was that the source of all his sorrow was still in this world and as long as she was, there was no way he could find respite. He would never forgive himself if he allowed her to get away this time. By the Gods, once he found her, he would kill her a million times!  

No-one was lucky thrice…


	24. TwentyFour

**Twenty-Four**

It hadn't been easy by any stretch of the imagination. It had taken several phone calls and a few words from Yurika's father to persuade Commander Yano of the UEAF to grant them permission to board the decommissioned Nadesico, which was now dry-docked in the UEAF's main Hiratsuka facility. He had conceded reluctantly and only because of Commander Misumaru's standing in the forces. Nevertheless, Yurika and Akito had achieved the appointment they needed and had celebrated with a hearty fried breakfast at a buffet in the city centre. 

Having assured Minato and Yukina that they'd contact them at the hotel if they found anything, Yurika and Akito had set out for the UEAF facility later that same morning. They'd arrived at eleven o'clock sharp and had been shown into a lounge where they were told to await Commander Yano, who would then escort them to the ship. So they'd both taken seats and waited, but it hadn't taken long for the minutes to batter down the walls of their patience. Yurika had paced back and forth, absently chewing her thumbnail, while Akito had pretended to read a magazine, succeeding only in making small, nervous tears around the edges of the pages.  

Eventually, three-quarters of an hour later, Commander Yano had come for them. The UEAF officer with the shiny scalp and lizardine eyes had looked distinctly unapologetic as he'd gruffly announced that the delay had been caused by some problems with the security system which had been a major nuisance all morning. Now though, he was confident that all the bugs had been ironed out, so their visit could now proceed. As they'd followed him out of the room, Akito had caught Yurika's excited gaze and knew she was thinking the same thing he was. Had those problems been caused by Ruri breaking in?

They'd find out soon enough. 

            Now they had just been shown into the Nadesico surveillance room, which overlooked the lifeless Nadesico in its hanger. Three UEAF men were sat at consoles and computer screens covered all of one wall, each one showing a different shot of a room or corridor inside the Nadesico. Akito deliberately avoided looking at them, but Yurika couldn't resist. Her eyes flitted from one to the other, desperately searching for any sign of the missing girl. None where present, but Akito squeezed Yurika's hand to reassure her. If Ruri _was onboard, she would have made sure that no-one could see her from the outside. _

            "We may board the ship as soon as our final scan of the security system is complete," Yano was saying.

            "How long will that take?" asked Yurika tensely.

            Yano turned to one of the men sitting at a computer. It took him a few seconds to realise they were all staring at him, but then he looked up and replied, "Oh, around five to ten minutes. Then if it all checks out like it should, you'll be able to go ahead."

            "Great!" said Yurika, her enthusiastic voice dampened by a slight trace of impatience. 

            Yano turned away from them to look at the monitor over his subordinate's shoulder. Seeing that they'd have to wait a short while longer, Akito wandered over to the windows, taking Yurika with him. From here they could survey the whole interior hanger in which the Nadesico was being kept. What had once been the most powerful battleship on the planet now looked like a museum piece – no life emitted from it whatsoever. In the poor light of the hanger, it was like looking down at some relic of the past which had just been shoved into someone's attic to be forgotten for eternity. Akito had to admit it was pretty depressing, seeing his former home like this. 

            "Huh, it really looks dead, doesn't it?" he murmured. At his side, Yurika nodded glumly. 

            "Do you really think Ruri is down there?" she asked, softly enough so that the UEAF personnel couldn't hear.

            "Can't tell from here," Akito replied, equally quietly. "We'll see, but for now we should keep quiet about it,"

            "But what do you think Commander Yano will do if he sees her? Do you think she'll be arrested for trespassing?"

            Akito scratched his cheek uneasily, having not thought that far ahead. "I don't know," he admitted. "I guess we'll work out something if we find her in there." Suddenly another thought occurred to him. "But don't worry too much. She's too young to be detained or imprisoned remember?" he added with a knowing smile. Yurika returned it, reassured. 

            Out of the corner of his eye, Akito saw Yano regarding them, suspicious of their hushed conversation. He remained silent and quickly brought his gaze back into the Nadesico hanger, trying to act as normally as possible. The last thing they wanted to do was give Yano an excuse to get them out of his hair. Or lack of it.

            Looking down at the Nadesico again, he saw something he'd missed the first time around. Yurika had obviously just seen it too, since a second later she thrust her finger against the window, pointing down at it and speaking up.     

            "Hey, that large box next to the cargo bay door. Isn't that the bosun-jump computer we picked up on Mars?" She looked over to the UEAF commander inquisitively.

            After a brief moment of indecision Yano put aside his instincts and continued. "Yes, that is the artefact which was extracted from the Martian ruins. We have not yet received authorisation to move it and so it must remain here for the time being. Nergal wish to take acquire it for research purposes, but as of yet the Earth Government is unsure of what should be done with it." 

"Hmm, I suppose it is a bit of a dilemma," said Yurika. "Nergal have brilliant research facilities and know more about bosun-jumping than anyone else on the planet. It would seem logical that they should study it, but I guess it's probably not a good idea to give them such a powerful device. Who knows what they'll do with it?"

"They've proved to be untrustworthy allies," admitted Yano. "They trod a fine line with us throughout the war and even today they are not to be relied upon. Why, just this morning I heard rumours that they were constructing a new battleship without consulting the authorities."

            "Really?" said Akito and Yurika, simultaneously feigning surprise. Both of them knew that this must be the battleship that Ruri's roommate had told them about. The one which Ruri's refusal to join had nearly killed her. 

            Yano nodded. "If that is the case, the Earth Government will want it shut down immediately. Our objective is peace now, not destruction." 

            "Amen!" chirped Yurika, beaming enthusiastically. 

            _"I just wish everyone thought like that," mused Akito, rubbing his chin. If a certain tyrannical tycoon had taken that attitude they would have already found Ruri by now. They wouldn't have to grope around in the dark, desperately hoping to find any possible trace of her like they were currently doing. Once again Akito felt anger rise inside him as remembered who was responsible for this whole mess, then fought to quell it with the words Yurika had spoken earlier – that Ruri was their most pressing concern at the moment. Wincing as he quenched his inner rage, he cast his eyes back to the Nadesico once more. _

_"We'll find you Ruri and when we do, I promise that bastard will never harm you again."_

*          *          *

Ruri knew, as she pulled the door to the bridge open, that she was running a great risk by being here, even with all her precautions. But she'd also realised that by now that she was beyond caring. She'd done what she'd come to Hiratsuka to do. At this point, her plan had trickled out and she'd come here simply because she had nowhere else to go.   

It had taken her nearly the whole morning to break in here. She gained access to the facility using many of the same tricks that she'd used to enter the Nergal building. This time it had been even easier since, much to her surprise, the security had been not nearly as tight. Once she was in the compound, it had been a simple matter of hacking into the security system and playing around with it to suit her needs. Ironically the hardest part of the security to bypass had been the one human guard posted at the entrance of the tunnel leading to the Nadesico itself. Ruri had waited a deathly dull hour in a ventilation shaft for him to take a bathroom break and allow her to sneak past into her former home. 

She'd found the Nadesico as dead as she had left it. In order to power up Omoikane, she'd had to activate the emergency generator, which was there as back-up for the back-up power, only to be used in the case of a total system failure. The amount of power it actually produced was miniscule, especially when compared to a P-T engine. It was only enough to sustain the life-support systems, such as oxygen and heating, on the bridge section of the ship – the idea was that it provided enough energy to keep the crew alive in space until assistance came. It suited Ruri's purposes well, since it was the only power source that could be activated without the Nadesico's Master Key and it produced too little to be detected from outside the ship, unless someone looked really closely. 

Since they were no longer in space, Ruri had diverted the power from the life support systems, which were unnecessary while in Earth's atmosphere, to Omoikane. It had taken her nearly two hours, but eventually she'd succeeded in getting the ship's computer running, albeit at a reduced rate. Though it was working at a tiny fraction of its former glory, its personality was still there and that was what Ruri needed right now. 

            It had been glad to see her, and Ruri had told it likewise. She'd also apologised for not booting it up fully and explained her reasons. As ever, Omoikane had understood. It was too happy to see her again to care. To Ruri, however, this condensed version did not seem to be quite the Omoikane she'd come to know and love. It felt like talking to a person who was half-asleep and groggy. Nevertheless, it was the only friend Ruri had left to turn to, so she sat there at her post in the darkness, conversing with the computer about the one overriding issue on her mind.

            "Omoikane, where do I belong?"

            The computer's response appeared onscreen in green letters on a black background. "_Sorry, I don't understand the question. __Could you rephrase it?"_

            Ruri sat up to move closer to the display. "I've been trained most of my life to be a crewmember of a battleship. In many ways, it's what I'm best at," She lowered her head. "But the war's over now. I don't want to kill people anymore." She closed her flawless eyes despairingly.  

            "But if I'm not going to do what I was created to do, then what else is there for me? I think I've proved that I'm not suited to a normal girl's life. I'm just too different from the rest of them to fit in. But what else can I do?" 

            Omoikane displayed an image onscreen, which Ruri recognised as the main gate to Peaceland. "_You could return to your parents," _

            Ruri blinked, then shook her head slowly. "They are not my parents,"

            "_My records state that your are the genetic offspring of the King and Queen of Peaceland."_

            "Yes, I know. But there's more to family then just genes."

            "_I don't see how."_

            "No, I wouldn't expect you too," said Ruri. "It's more about feelings."

            _"Please explain," _

            Ruri exhaled in exasperation – at times Omoikane could be as bad as Mikoto. "I don't know them and I feel no emotional connection to them at all," she stated. "If I went back to them now, it would be just as if I was living with some random foster parents. Let's not even mention the fact that I spurned their offer of family once, to return to the Nadesico. I doubt they'll want me as a child now, even if I did go back to them."

            _"I still see it as the most viable option. If you are not taking that option, then I suggest you go to your former crewmates." Omoikane displayed a picture of the whole crew onscreen. _

            "No, I can't do that either. They're all being detained by the UEAF and in any case…" Ruri trailed off and sighed. 

            _"What?"_

_            "I-I can't just impose myself on them. I am not their responsibility. It would be unfair to expect them to look after me, even if they are my friends."_

            _"Perhaps they would want to look after you. If they truly are your friends."_

            "That's enough Omoikane." Ruri said, signalling a closure to the conversation. This wasn't helping. The computer was not giving her the answers she needed to hear. 

            "But what other answers are there?" she uttered aloud, but to herself. Looking back, she recalled the few paths that had been available to her since she'd left the Nadesico. None of them suited her at all. She could have become a lonely orphan, a tool of Nergal or a dead corpse. Those had been the roles offered to her. But there was nothing available for the true Ruri, nothing for the trapped child inside of her which longed for love, freedom and happiness. 

            Sigh.

She sat alone and silent for several seconds, which turned into several minutes. Omoikane had been her safety net. Now she really knew there was nowhere for her to go. Nothing for her to belong to. No home for Ruri-Ruri.

            A distant sound suddenly brought her out of her miserable trance. Her ears pricked up as she heard faint footsteps coming from the corridor behind her. With a slight gasp, she brought her head up so she could hear more clearly. Yes, someone was coming. Chances were that someone had detected her presence and was now coming for her. Though her instincts told her to hide, she overrode them and stayed in her seat. There was nowhere else for her to go – she might as well let whoever was coming do what they wanted with her. 

The door to the upper bridge squeaked as it was pulled further open, but Ruri couldn't yet see who had entered. Leaving her post, she walked over to the stairwell to see the newcomer, who was slowly descending the steps to the lower section where she was. 

            As it turned out it was someone she knew. 

"You?!" she blurted, not believing what her vision was showing her.

"Who'd you think?" raged a very familiar scarred assassin, dashing down the last few steps and advancing on her. Ruri took a few tentative steps back, mouth slowly dropping open in disbelief and dread. Her oppressor slowly bore down on her, his uncovered eye blazing with malice.

"You thought you could lose me you little bitch?!" Surging forward, he struck her across the face with the butt of his pistol. The force of the hit caused her to stagger backwards and fall hard on to the floor. She frantically pushed herself up on her arms, but collapsed again when the assassin kicked her hard in her mid-section. She moaned in pain and rolled with the blow so that she lay on her front. 

"You completely screwed me!" yelled her assailant. "You brought me to fucking rags!" He kicked her sharply in the ribs again, causing her to cry out. Tears of pain filled her eyes as she braced herself for another blow.

"You think you could just piss on my reputation and then just run off, leaving me to rot in the gutter?" He grunted loudly and put his boot into her again. "_Not fucking likely!"_

By now Ruri's body was a hive of hurt and pain-induced tears rolled down her face like rain on windows. She tried to lift herself up again, but failed when agony wrenched through her side. With a gasp of suffering, she collapsed to the ground again. This time she lay there with her face to the floor and spoke, every word giving her a fresh stab of pain.

"W-Why are you doing this?" she whimpered softly. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"Be silent, runt!" thundered Matador.

            Ruri heard the sound of something being assembled behind her. With great effort she looked around and saw that the assassin was loading a gun, slowly and pleasurably pushing each individual bullet into its slot. Terror invaded her and she struggled to move away, but once again was foiled by the pain. There was no way out this time – she was a sitting duck, a lamb in the slaughterhouse. A cat in a bag even.   

"You should have died long ago." murmured her oppressor, gradually bringing down the pistol to aim at her head. A perverse lust for murder glinted in his good eye and his gun-hand quivered fitfully from a mixture of fury and anticipation. All hope lost, Ruri emitted a tiny whimper, screwed her eyes shut and braced herself for death. 

Several seconds passed and nothing happened. Ruri slowly opened her eyes again as she heard Matador speak again, his crazed tone now replaced with something more level and professional. 

"No. No, this isn't the way," 

He brought the gun back up away from her and she heard him replace it in its holster. Confusion temporarily overrode her terror and she lifted her head up in puzzlement. Craning her neck as far as she comfortably could, she saw him bring out something else from the side-pocket of his trench-coat. She couldn't see what. 

"You'll be the perfect guinea pig,"

Trading pain for a better view, Ruri wrenched her head right around. What she saw made her gasp in horror. Matador was filling a tiny syringe from a vial of clear, colourless liquid, being very careful not to spill any of the sinister substance on to his hands. Once he was satisfied, he held the needle, point upwards, triumphantly. Ruri's pale lips trembled in fear as she saw what he intended to do. 

"_No. Oh please, no."_

"My own recipe," Matador sneered. "You'll be the first to die by it. I swear, once you've had a taste of this stuff, you'll wish I'd killed you the first time!" 

Ruri could barely breathe, let alone form words – her throat seemed to have closed off completely. "Please don't do this," she sobbed feebly. 

The assassin laughed out loud. "Finally showing fear! How delightful!" He stamped on her back, forcing her face down to the floor, then crouched down next to her. Ruri could feel his warm breath against her ear as he spoke. 

"Time to leave, bitch." 

With that he forcibly grasped her hair, rammed her head against the floor and thrust the pin into the base of her neck. 

She felt its effect instantly – her vision blurred into a child's painting and her mind caved in on itself, her thoughts scattering around like papers in the wind. Nausea hit her like a tidal wave and what little strength she had left gushed out of her in an instant. She lay prone on the floor, using the one shred of consciousness she had left to jump to the logical conclusion. 

_"Poisoned?"  _

Yes, that was the only possibility. Then it truly was the end for her now. 

She became vaguely aware of someone laughing behind her. The sound seemed faint and distant now, as if she was hearing it from underwater. Bright colours were flying everywhere now in elusive streaks of light. It was all too much to take, soon she would black out. Her grip on reality was ebbing at an alarming rate and it wouldn't be long before she lost it altogether. There was only time for one last action. 

Using strength on credit, she latched onto the edge of her console, pulled herself part of the way up and planted her trembling palm onto the control surface. Her implants started glowing as the computer registered her presence. 

"Omoikane?" she whispered weakly. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw the input screen flashing, signalling that the computer had heard.

"Omoikane," Ruri repeated, her voice now faint as a breeze. "Go to Red Alert."

Those final words spoken, she slithered off the console and fell lifelessly to the floor, finally succumbing to the darkness. 


	25. TwentyFive

**A/N – Thanks all for the latest reviews. Judging by the common reaction, it seems like the last chapter caused a bit of a stir. Not surprising really considering how it ended, but I'm guessing you'll prefer the end of this one.**

**BTW sorry for the delay. Using school/university work is such a tired excuse for bringing out chapters late, but it's a very valid one despite that, so I'll make use of it again here. Believe me, I'd much rather be writing this than some essay about British trade during the nineteenth century, but unfortunately my tutor sees things differently. **

**This chapter is dedicated to my new cousin once removed, who was born last Wednesday. ^_^ **

**Twenty-Five **

            The tenseness brought on by the prospect of finding Ruri was more than sufficient to stretch their nerves to the limit. The shrill siren when it came was enough to shatter them completely, causing both Yurika and Akito to double over as the breath was knocked from them. It was a bolt from the blue – one moment everything was calm and inactive, then suddenly the lights on the consoles started flashing manically and the alarm sounded like the call of the devil. Had they not known better, they would have both sworn a Jovian attack was in progress.  

            "What the hell?!" snorted Yano, immediately pacing over to the nearest console. "Report Lieutenant!"  

            "Something's not right, Sir!" replied the operator, who was frantically hammering the keys at his workstation having recovered from the initial shock. "It's the Nadesico's computer, it's raising the alarm!"

"Impossible!" barked the commander. "The computer was deactivated! There must be another malfunction in the security system!"

"Sir!" called out one of the other men from across the room. "I've just detected two intruders onboard the Nadesico!"

"_What!?" roared Yano, angry veins emerging on his scalp. _

"Yes, two unidentified persons are on the bridge! Somehow the security system has been masking them until now."

"Ruri!" screamed Yurika, throwing all caution away as she raced over to look at his station. "It has to be!"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Akito, rushing up beside her. "But who's with her?"         

"How in the name of Mars did they get onboard?" snarled Yano. "I want a security team down there _immediately! They cannot be allowed to get away!"_

            "Yes Sir!" 

"Wait!" squealed Yurika. "It's Ruri, it must be! Let us go onboard so…"

_"You are going nowhere!" bellowed Yano, shoving a finger at her before striding from the room. Yurika attempted to follow him, but a security guard, previously standing quietly in the corner, stepped forward to block her way. In desperation, Yurika turned around to her boyfriend and stared helplessly at him. _

"What do we do Akito!?" she shrieked hysterically.

"Er, I don't know," he blurted, his mind hopelessly blurred all this sudden commotion. "Maybe we should just see how this pads out?"

"It's Ruri, Akito! I _know it's her!" Yurika continued, her pretty face animated with exhilaration and panic. "We have to get down there now! If the guards find her, they'll arrest her! Or even worse, they'll scare her away and we'll __never find her!"_

_"Damn!" She was right of course. Chances were that Ruri wouldn't stick around if she knew she'd been discovered. Furthermore, with trespassers detected on the Nadesico, there was no way he and Yurika would be allowed onboard, at least not in the foreseeable future. But if they didn't go to her now, Ruri would flee and they'd lose the one lead they had on her. He grunted in frustration at the impossible predicament. But with the UEAF guards around, what could they possibly do?_

"Ruri," he murmured quietly as he stared down at the inactive ship in the hanger. 

*          *            *

The sudden invasion of klaxons, sirens and flashing red lights where there had formerly been silence and darkness was nothing less than explosive. Matador, who'd been licking his teeth in satisfaction at the time, had bitten his tongue hard, adding irritation to the jolt of this sudden fireworks display. With a filthy curse, he stepped over the child's body to reach the console and started bashing it with his fists, futilely trying to stop the alarm. He couldn't be discovered now! The girl had to be dead before he could leave!

            "Stop!" he barked, "Shut the fuck up, you piece of crap!"  

            Unsurprisingly, the system didn't concede to his brute strength, responding only to IFS implants. Nevertheless, Matador persevered with a persistence possessed only by the greatest of idiots. Bright sparks fizzled up as he battered the control surface again and again.

_"No! I will not let you sour my triumph, you bitch!"_

*          *            *

"Please, I'm begging you!" cried Yurika, looking up at the security guard with wide imploring eyes and a ridiculously pitiable expression. "Please let us go!"

Akito knew that she was wasting her breath. The UEAF men were professionals and wouldn't go against their orders, no matter how much womanly charm she mustered. But he wasn't surprised she was persisting despite the hopeless odds – it just wasn't in her nature to give up.  

_"We have to do something. Anything!" he decided. __"We can't let Ruri slip through our fingers, not when we're this close!"_

He walked over to window again, looking into the hanger for ideas. He looked down at the long white tunnel that connected the building and the cargo bay of the Nadesico. That was the only real way to access the ship. Unfortunately, it bound to be heavily guarded, so they wouldn't be able to use it even if the security guard did let them out of the room. There was no other way of getting onboard without being in plain sight of the UEAF security. As far as he could see it was utterly hopeless. He didn't want to give up on Ruri, but there seemed to be no plausible way he could help her. He slumped down against the window in despondency, then looked up as Yurika, completely exasperated from her failed attempts to negotiate with the security guard, strode up next to him and stared down at the ship she had once commanded.

"There must be a way Akito!" she cried. "Ruri's down there and I'm not going to stand by and let the UEAF take her away from us. There must be a way to reach her before they do!"

"Well, I'm thinking Yurika, but I really don't know what we _can do," he replied, scratching his chin solicitously. "There's no way we can get to the Nadesico under the noses of the guards."_

"I know, but maybe we could contact her somehow. Or maybe we can reason with Commander Yano. Or maybe…" She suddenly trailed off, her eyes darting back to the ship. As he looked over to her for the rest of her sentence, he saw something rise slowly in her face. She regarded the hanger a moment longer with her mouth parted a fraction, as if she was considering something. Then suddenly inspiration flared up in her eyes and she turned to him, her voice shrill with excitement.

"Akito, I've got it! The computer!" 

"What?!" Akito said, giving her a look of puzzlement as she ran forward and took both his hands in hers.

"We can use the computer, Akito!" she cried breathlessly. 

"Huh?" Akito couldn't see what she was on about. 

She shook his arms frenziedly, urging him to understand. "We can _bosun jump!"_

_Of course. It never ceased to astound him that she could seem so air-headed until the situation required a moment of brilliance. With the Martian computer here, they could jump onto the Nadesico without even needing a CC! It was perfect – they could board the Nadesico in a second, bypassing the guards completely! Having finally grasped her thought, he tightened his grip on her hands._

"Okay Yurika, let's try it! Let's focus on the bridge and see what happens."

"Yes!" Yurika nodded eagerly. 

Both of them closed their eyes and cast their thoughts back to that memorable chamber which had been the nerve centre of the Nadesico. Akito thought of the unique tiered layout of the room. Of lovely Yurika, standing at the very top of it all, commanding her tiny kingdom from above. Of reliable Jun, always there by her side come rain or shine. Of virtuous Megumi, down and to the left, her pleasant voice relaying all communications to the captain. Of capable Minato on the right side, operating her controls with the ease of an expert. And there, in the centre of them all, little Ruri. Always in the background, but doing her job with a competence and devotion unrivalled by anyone in the crew.

It was working, Akito could feel it. The familiar light-headed sensation had entered his mind and his skin was tingling as his hairs stood on end. He opened his eyes slightly to see Yurika's body covered in those bizarre bands of light that preceded a jump. No doubt, his own was similarly marked. He allowed himself a grin as he heard the surprised cries of the UEAF men, knowing they were too late to stop them. A second later they jumped, without leaving a trace in their wake. 

*          *            *

Every time he bosun-jumped, his senses were drowned out by an overwhelming white light. This time was no exception and because of that it took a few moments for his eyesight to return. After three seconds, he could make out the familiar features of the Nadesico's bridge and knew that their jump had been successful. After five, he noticed a tall dark figure messing around with one of the control surfaces. It took him a full seven seconds before he could really see clearly again and it was then that he noticed the child lying beside the stranger's feet. 

Ruri. Prone, unconscious and quite possibly dead. 

_"Oh my God," His mouth instantly went dry as the shock of actually finding her was overwhelmed by the terror he felt at seeing her like this. What had happened to her? Was she hurt? Was she even alive? He found himself paralysed with dread as he considered the unthinkable possibility that he was staring at Ruri's corpse. Yurika on the other hand, had no problem in expressing her fear.  _

            "RURI!" she screamed, her hands rushing to her face in horror. 

At her voice the unfamiliar man spun around in shock, revealing a youthful, but scarred face with one eye covered by a black bandana. He saw them instantly and snarled, his hand diving swiftly into his trench coat. Akito's finely honed reflexes came into play as he anticipated what was about to happen. Snapping out of his horrified trance, he threw himself forward just as the man pulled out his gun. The two men collided and fell down against the console, the weapon scattering across the deck away from them. Akito used his momentum advantage to force the dark-haired man down against the control surface, ardent wrath rising in his eyes. Letting the adrenaline rush fuel his burning rage, he drew his fist back and drove it hard into the other man's jaw.  

_"What have you done to her, you bastard!" he screamed, as he struck him again and again, rage building with each blow. His victim yelled out as each hit connected and marred his already horrific face even further.  _

            "_I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you!" Akito had lost control, now fully absorbed in the state of fury that always possessed him in the heat of a battle. Rational thoughts fled his mind, leaving him as a machine of madness, fixed only on pummelling his victim. His enraged fists drew blood and broke teeth mercilessly, but still he refused to stop, his thoughts focused only on punishing the man who'd threatened the life of his princess._

The fight was one-sided until Akito brought back his fist back to deliver his ultimate punch. It was then that the other man retaliated, pushing him back with a sudden burst of strength. Akito was knocked off balance and couldn't block the kick to his mid-section, nor the punch to the head that followed that. He fell back, rolling with the blow and then stood up straight again only to be downed as the other man lunged at him with a roar. Both man tumbled to the floor, grappling wildly at each other like fighting wolves. Akito suddenly found himself pinned on his back, desperately fending his foe's hands off his neck.  

"AKITO!" screamed Yurika, clasping both hands across her mouth. Ever since the fight had started, she'd down nothing but stand there and gape, her attention torn between the unconscious girl on the floor and the brutal physical contest in which her boyfriend was engaged. 

"Yurika, get the gun. Get the gun!" Akito shouted, using all his strength to hold back his opponent's throttling hands. Yurika just stood there, dumbly rooted to the spot with her mouth ajar in fear. With a frustrated oath through gritted teeth, Akito tried to summon more strength. Unfortunately the man on top had gravity on his side and Akito could feel his arms beginning to buckle under the strain. 

Brute strength wasn't working, Akito needed another idea. He'd seen action heroes do it in the movies several times and considering it was the only part of his body that he could currently move, it made perfect sense to use it. So, with an animal snarl to give him power, he hurled his forehead forward to strike his oppressor.

Right in his wounded eye socket. 

If it had been painful for him, it must have been totally agonising for his adversary. Upon contact, the dark man writhed back with a wretched howl, one hand frenziedly clutching at his face. Akito took advantage of his foe's lost strength and shoved him aside, meeting no resistance as he did so. Without wasting a second, he regained his footing and scrambled frantically over to where the pistol had landed. He hastily snatched it up, turned around and aimed at the stranger, who was gradually and painfully picking himself up.

"Hands in the air, you scumbag!"

The injured man, stood slowly, raising both his hands in surrender. While his body language indicated submission, his face was still contorted with pain and hatred. But his expression was nothing compared to the mess in his right eye socket, hideous with infection, clotted blood and runny fluids, seeping out as a consequence of that head-butt. Akito couldn't stop himself from wincing. 

"Akito!" Yurika's cry came from one side. He looked over to see her kneeling beside Ruri's fallen form, cradling the girl's limp head in her arms. "She's dying, Akito! She's…" Words failed her, a desperate gasp coming out instead. 

Akito shot her another glance before looking back to the man he was holding at gunpoint. Although he still had his arms up, he was very slowly edging back towards the bridge's lower-level exit, now no more than ten metres behind him.  "Stay where you are!" Akito barked, reaffirming his grip on the pistol. The man grudgingly obeyed, his grim face obscured by the stream of blood and pus coming from his ruined eye. Keeping his aim fixed on him, Akito called out to Yurika.

"Is she breathing?" 

Yurika replied between sobs. "Yes, but its very weak."

"What about her pulse, did you check her pulse?"

A few second passed as Yurika complied. "I…I can't feel it Akito!" she wailed eventually. "I think she's…she's…" she trailed off, burying her face in Ruri's white hair and weeping.

_"Fuck," Akito gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes as his concentrated on his captive again. Ruri needed him, but he wouldn't be able to help her until he'd dealt with her oppressor. Off the top his head, there were two ways to go about that - pulling the trigger or letting him off scot-free. All or nothing.  _

Inside of him, his yearning to avenge Ruri waged a war with some of his own principles. The man before him had harmed one of the most important people in his life and by all rights deserved to die. But all the same he was unarmed, wounded and completely defenceless. How could a righteous man pull the trigger under such circumstances? But he had hurt Ruri…Akito swore under his breath at the dilemma. 

In the end, decency prevailed. 

"Aw hell, just beat it!" he shouted, lowering the gun and waving him off.

The other man stared at him with incredulity for a second, then took a hesitant step back. Then, seeing that Akito wasn't going to shoot him, he turned and bolted though the door. His sprinting footsteps echoed back into the room as he departed. Akito grunted in frustration – that had been one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do. But at least the distraction was out of the way now, leaving him free to address the priority. 

_"Ruri!"_

Wasting no more time, he darted over to where Yurika was holding Ruri in her arms and crouched down by her. "Let me take a look at her," he murmured, softly as he could manage.

Yurika relaxed her hold on the girl, so Akito could see her properly. His first reaction was to cringe – Ruri looked like hell. Her skin was even paler than it normally was, having taken on a more sickly shade of white. A long cut ran across one cheek and her mouth was slightly parted, short, shallow breaths drifting from her pallid lips. Akito's hand was quivering as he pressed two forefingers against her neck, his own pulse quickening as he checked for hers. 

_"Please don't die on me Ruri." _

There. After what seemed like an eternity he felt a tiny beat. Another came a second later, bringing a sigh of relief from Akito. Ruri was alive, but barely. She needed help and _fast.    _

            "Come on, I feel a heartbeat!" he found himself shouting, as he swept up the unconscious girl in his arms. "She's still alive, but we need to get her to a hospital ASAP!"

            Yurika nodded wanly and stood up next to him. Her cheeks were flushed with deep worry and her eyes were brimful with fresh tears.

"She _can't die, Akito. Not now that we've found her."_

            "Don't worry, she's going to be fine Yurika," he said, though he did not feel as confident as his words. The pasty girl in his arms looked dead already, with only her sporadic breathing to suggest the contrary. She was fading fast and unless they acted soon, they would lose their precious girl wonder forever. 

"Don't worry, Ruri," he whispered, looking down at her. "There's no way in hell I'm going to let you die. Just hold on for us a little longer, okay?"

*          *            *

            Now with a severely bruised jaw to add to his battered body, broken ribs and sightless eye, Matador felt like he was disintegrating. After that brawl with the scrawny guy, even running was painful now and he found himself stopping at the end of each corridor to double over and gasp as sharp pains pierced through his chest. 

            _"That whoreson! He's vulture food if we meet again."_

            He forced himself forward, trying to press on through the hurt. He'd have time to sit and lick his wounds later, right now he was still in very real danger. The alarms were still blaring out loud and he was certain that a security team would be on their way to investigate. Soon this place would be crawling with guards, but with the tunnel entrance bound to be secured, escape was practically impossible. Fortunately, Matador had a back-up plan. If he could lie low for a while on the ship, he could make his escape later on, when their guard was down. All he needed was a good hiding place, and there were more than enough of those on a ship of this size. He just hoped he found one before the security guards found him.        

At the corner, he halted briefly to wipe the blood off his split lip. He felt completely trashed. No denying that this trip had come with costs, but at least he'd completed what he'd come to do. The girl would die, there was no question of that. With the _Matador's Cocktail toxin in her veins, she had the survival odds of a snowball in hell. That was the whole beauty of his masterpiece. It was incurable – once in the victim's system there was no way of treating it, medical help or otherwise. He was confident that it wouldn't take more than an hour to kill a child. She would grow weaker with every minute that passed until she eventually just ceased to live, like a dwindling campfire finally running out of fuel. It annoyed him that he wouldn't be present for the exact moment of her death. He'd wanted to savour her dying breath, knowing that it finally marked his conquest over the troublesome brat who'd brought his life to ruins. Furthermore, he'd wanted to chop off and keep the head – it would have looked good, stuffed and mounted on his wall. _

_"This way, the bridge is just up ahead,"_

            Matador instinctively flattened himself against the wall as he heard human voices in the next corridor. The security team had arrived which was bad news for him. There was no way in hell he could outrun them, not in his condition. In desperation, he ran to the nearest door and tried to force it open, but it was locked fast and wouldn't budge. He was about to give up and make a run for it when suddenly he heard a chime from behind him. Turning around he saw his way out – an elevator had arrived across the corridor, its doors sliding open invitingly.

            _"Ha! My luck's in!" _

            He darted inside and immediately punched the button for the lowest level possible, figuring that there had to be a cargo bay around here somewhere where he could secrete himself until the heat cooled off. As the lift doors closed, he slumped against the wall, exhaling in relief. He was safe for now. At least that's what he thought until the lift went into motion. 

            Something was wrong. The lift was moving _upwards._

            Immediately taunt with panic, Matador reached over and pressed the button again. When the lift didn't respond, he began hitting it repeatedly but still nothing happened. 

            _"What the fuck?! This damn thing's broken!"_

            He frantically stabbed the stop button, the 'open-doors' button and a few others. When they had no affect either, he bashed his palm against the control panel in angry desperation, but there was no reaction to that either. It was as if the elevator had suddenly acquired a mind of its own and was consciously defying him. Murmuring in anger, he conceded that he would have to ride this one out.

Eventually the lift came to a stop on the top level and Matador prepared to disembark, not wanting to stay in this fucked-up elevator any longer. However, almost inevitably, the doors refused to open for him. He tried the keypad again but it still wouldn't respond to his presses. With a quick curse, he applied his strength to the door, pulling against it with all his might. There was no way he was going to be shut in here, trapped like a rabbit in a snare for the UEAF to find! 

It was no good. Human strength couldn't pull those doors apart. As frustration killed off his remaining self-control, he began to pummel the doors with an insane flurry of kicks and punches. His energy ran out within a minute, after which he just stood, breathing heavily and glaring at the metal door that opposed him. 

Just as he was about to try his muscle against the door again, a communication screen rushed up before him. All his anger paled to horror as he read the message it displayed. 

_"Those Unforgivable Sins. For Them You Die."_

He barely had time to register the words before the lift went into freefall and Omoikane plunged him screaming into oblivion. 

*          *            *

The man who grants no mercy deserves none in return. 

As he lay amid the wreckage at the bottom of the lift shaft, his body broken and his shoulder skewered by a thin metal girder, Matador felt a strange sense of calm descend on him. Maybe it was the promise of inevitable death, or simply the fact he was too weak to feel otherwise but whatever it was it had lifted the rage that normally clouded his thoughts. For the first time in a long time he was able to see things clearly, despite the fact the hour of his death was upon him.

Had he earned this fate for his sins over the past year? It certainly felt as if he deserved this, as if this destiny had been waiting for him ever since he'd devoted his life to ending those of others. He'd never really believed in any justice outside of his own selfish aims, but despite that everything seemed so _right now. He had lived his life by making others suffer for his own gain. Never once had he felt remorse or sympathy for those whose lives he'd destroyed, in fact he'd delighted in their misery. That made him evil and a man better off dead. _

So had he lived his life wrongly? Should he have chosen a different path, one more compassionate and less self-serving? A life that embraced the existence of others? Would that have made him a better man? Well, one thing was for sure. Had he adopted different values, he certainly wouldn't be here now, dying amid the debris. He dismissed those thoughts with a flicker of his mind. Now was not the time for regret.

Blood ran into his good eye as his breathing gradually ceased. Dropping his head in final defeat, he surrendered his ghost to whatever powers of judgement awaited it. His life of sin was over. The Matador had finally been gored.

**A/N – Well, the bastard's dead. But I wouldn't crack open the bubbly just yet since Ruri's life is still hanging by a thread. Will Akito and Yurika be able to save her? 0_0**

**I'm afraid the next chapter may take a while since, like I said, I've still got a whole load of work to do. But since my term ends soon, I should have the whole thing finished before Christmas. ^_^**

**Two chapters to go…**


	26. TwentySix

**A/N – Finally, I've updated again! Hope everyone had a great Christmas! **

**This chapter is late due to a pretty major case of writer's block. I know I said I'd have the whole thing done by now, but I guess that was a bit too ambitious. Bear with me, it shouldn't take _that much longer to finish now that this chapter's out of the way. _**

**Cheers for all the reviews by the way, I don't think I've ever had so many for one chapter. Your comments really spur me on, so thanks everyone!**

**Twenty-Six**

The last three hours had lasted forever. 

Ever since they'd entered this hospital relative's room, time had stopped and left them helplessly in limbo. The only interruption came from the nurse, coming in briefly at hourly intervals to tell them that there was no improvement in her condition as of yet, but that the doctors were doing everything in their power and could make a breakthrough at any time. Her reassurances did nothing to ease the cumulative dread growing in the room. They all feared greatly for their friend and would not be comforted until they saw her back on her feet. Unfortunately, from the details they'd been given, it was unlikely that would be any time soon. 

In the meantime all they did was sit in silence. Occasionally the restlessness would overwhelm one of them and they would get up and stride to and fro for a few seconds before sitting back down again. This tension was slow painful torture and even Yukina seemed too clogged up with worry to say anything. It left them as four fretting figures refraining from speaking or acting, as if doing so would prove that this terrible situation was real, not just some hideous nightmare. 

At a few minutes past four the nurse came in again, causing both Yurika and Minato to shift forward to the edge of their seats, their eyes bulging in inquiry. The nurse was professionally calm, but Akito could tell from her grim expression that she hadn't come with good news. Fearing the worst, he took Yurika's hands in his own as a pre-emptive comfort. 

"How is she?" he asked, realising that someone had to ask the dreaded question.

The nurse didn't reply immediately, but sat down opposite them, a sombre expression on her face. "Mr Tenkawa, your daughter is a very sick girl. She had a large dose of an unidentified drug injected into her body and has fallen into a coma.  We've administered several antitoxins but with minimal benefit and she's becoming weaker with every hour that passes." She paused anxiously for a moment before saying, "I'm afraid to say that the chances of a recovery are looking very slim indeed." 

Silence followed her words. Four heads bowed in unison as the bleak news sunk in. Of course, they had suspected something like this all along, but to have it confirmed like this crushed the flowers of their spirits into a collection of ruined petals. There was no question about it now. Ruri was dying and there was nothing they could do to save her.

"Isn't there anything else you can do?" asked Minato, her voice cracking with sorrow.

            "No, I'm sorry," replied the nurse, shaking her head mournfully. "We've tried everything, but nothing seems to be effective. She'll need nothing less than a miracle to recover I'm afraid."  

            "_No!" screamed Yurika, suddenly vaulting to her feet in a burst of defiant grief. "You can't let her die! There must be __something you can do for her!" _

"Yurika," murmured Akito, gently coaxing her back down to her seat. The former captain sunk back down, her face crushed up in distress and her body racking with silent sobs. Akito put his arms around her, murmuring soothing words to calm the devastated woman. The nurse looked down on her with the pitying face of someone who had seen this scene too many times before.

 "I'm sorry we can't do more to help her, Miss Misumaru, I really am," she said sincerely. With a slight, helpless shrug she added, "If you like, you can come through and see her now." 

"Okay, thanks," said Akito. Those simple words were all he could manage with the anguish churning up inside of him. 

They all followed the nurse through to the room in which they were treating the young computer operator. Akito closed his eyes as they passed through the door. He wasn't sure if he wanted to see the extent of Ruri's illness. A combined cry of horror from the girls told him he was right. Grimacing in anticipation, he slowly opened his eyes again and gasped in awfulness of what he saw. 

Ruri looked even worse than she had before. She looked ghostly, an image of death already. Her body was completely wracked with sickness with her pallid skin clutching her skeleton ever so closely and revealing the shapes of the bones in many places. Most of her face was obscured by the oxygen mask, though her closed eyes could still be seen above her sunken cheeks. Sweat drenched her forehead and hair, making it clear that she was deteriorating in her slumber, not regenerating. Her colour and complexion made her look like some marble statue that had toppled from its base and was now prepared to succumb to nature. 

"Ruri," Yurika peeped tearfully. "_Oh Ruri," She slowly moved over to the bedside to take the frail, almost skeletal, hand of the dying girl in her own. Ruri didn't respond to her touch in the slightest, just lay there unmoving like the corpse she resembled. Yurika clasped both her hands around it and brought it slowly up to her face, sobbing weakly in anguish. _

Akito just stood there stunned and horrified at seeing his friend so close to death. It was unreal, the thought that the Ruri he knew was lying her here before him, her life draining away with every moment that passed. Seeing her like this brought back nightmarish flashbacks from his time on the Nadesico. He'd seen two of his friends die in a hospital bed, both his former fellow pilot Gai Daigoji and Yukina's brother, Tsukumo Shiratori. Would he lose Ruri too, just like he had lost them? How could he go through that again – the horrible instant when the heartbeat first ceased, the awful screams of grief around him, the hellish sensation of looking upon your friend and knowing that they would never talk, smile or laugh again? Those lurid memories still haunted him day and night and if Ruri's death added to them, they would become hideous beyond imagination. The prospect made him light-headed and dizzy. 

Beside him Minato was struggling with her own tears, dabbing pathetically at her red-rimmed eyes with a pink handkerchief. Yukina, looking as solemn as he'd ever seen her, spoke in a glum voice.

"She's not going to wake up, is she?"

No-one answered her. There was no good answer to give. The Jovian girl lowered her head, letting red hair fall over her face.

"I hope Big Brother will look after her," she whispered, quiet as a ghost. 

With one great sob, Minato pulled the young teenager into an embrace and held her close, offering what little comfort she could give though her own face was completely distorted with grief. Both of them wept in each others arms, while Yurika sat next to Ruri, holding her hand and crying salty rain. Only Akito's face remained dry and passive as he stood as a dumb spectator to the dismal scene before him.

_"Ruri,"_

*          *          *

As the long painful hours passed, both the daylight and Ruri's condition faded as one. It was as if the ending of the day was tied in synchronism with the ending of her life, an eerie thought that had made Akito feel more restless and troubled than ever. Mercifully, Ruri survived beyond the sunset but she didn't wake up and by the small hours of the morning, she was all but lost to them. 

Akito and the rest of them had stayed at the hospital the whole time in the vain hope their little Ruri-Ruri would make a miracle recovery. She didn't of course – the nurse only ever gave them bad news about her status. It was heart-wrenching to admit, but Akito had lost all hope that Ruri would pull through. He didn't voice his thoughts, but he knew that if the advanced medical facilities here couldn't save her, then it was likely nothing could. All they were doing was counting down the minutes until her inevitable death. Killing time as time killed her.  

It was three in the morning now. Yurika had long since fallen asleep on the couch, having spent all her energy on grief. Minato and Yukina were working on the crosswords in every magazine in the relative's room, trying to keep their minds off the present crisis. Akito however, had nothing to take away the trepidation. At the moment he was standing before a vending machine in the corridor, staring vacantly at his disheartened reflection in the glass and pondering his failure to protect his princess.  

_"I've really let you down this time, haven't I Ruri?"_

Yes, he had. He had always assumed that she would be okay by herself. That even without them she would cope. Never, even in his wildest nightmares, had he envisaged that such a terrible fate could possibly befall her. But was that an excuse for not protecting her from it? Not to Akito's mind it wasn't.

He inserted some change into the machine and selected a bar of chocolate. The rings inside whirred around but while the snack shifted, it did not fall. Akito's face fell even further, but he was too depressed to feel frustrated. 

_"Figures I guess. Nothing's going right today,"_

As opened his wallet to root around for more change, he heard a door open down the corridor and footsteps come towards him. At first he didn't move, but when the person approached him he looked up. It was Minato who faced him with a grave expression that matched his own. Both of them nodded to acknowledge each others presence but neither had the spirit to add a smile to the greeting.  

"I'm going to take Yukina back to the hotel, she's very tired." Minato said quietly. "Are you going to stay here?"

"Er, yeah," Akito replied, nodding weakly. "Just in case there's any change."

"How about Yurika?"

"Yurika," Akito murmured, considering her girlfriend who was sleeping back in the relative's room. "Well, I don't want to disturb her now that she's asleep. If she wakes up, all she'll do is worry. Besides, she'll probably want to stay in any case." 

"Okay, sure," replied Minato with a nod. She made as if to leave, but then turned back to him, as if she'd suddenly decided she had something more to say. 

"Akito?"

"Yeah?" he said, miserably.

Her eyes sought his out. "Please don't blame yourself for this. It's not your fault, you know."

It was as if her eyes had penetrated his very thoughts. Akito sighed, bowed his head and replied in a murmur. "You can say that Minato, but I can't help thinking that I could have saved her if I'd just been there a few minutes sooner."

"Don't think like that. There's no point in worrying about 'could haves' when you don't know for sure how else it could have turned out. The fact that you _were there gave her a chance at survival. Isn't that enough?"_

"No. Not if she dies," Akito muttered darkly. 

Refusing to be discouraged, Minato continued. "Look, there was nothing you could have done, even if you had been there sooner. Didn't you say the man had a gun? If things had been different and he'd seen you first, then both you and Yurika might have been killed along with Ruri. It's impossible to say. All we can do is hope and pray to God that she makes a recovery. Fretting about the past can't change it and it certainly won't make things better." She gave him the tiniest smile. "That's probably what Ruri would say."

            "Yeah. Yeah, I guess she would." Akito turned back to the vending machine. "I know what you're trying to say Minato, but it's hard to think that way when I see just how sick she is." 

            "I know, I know. But don't let it get to you." 

            "I'll try,"

            "Please do," she said, touching his arm lightly. "Ruri doesn't need you torturing yourself like this." The edges of her supple lips curved upwards a touch as she continued. 

"In any case, you shouldn't hurt while there's still hope that she will live. She _will pull through Akito, you'll see. And when she does, you'll feel like an idiot for feeling so guilty now."_

"Maybe," murmured Akito. He knew that Minato was trying to comfort him and was grateful to her for trying, but groundless optimism would help neither him nor Ruri. 

Finally accepting that her attempts at reassurance were falling on deaf ears, Minato gave up trying. Her face fell slightly as she said, "Well I'd better go. I'll be back as soon as I can. My mobile will be on so call me if there are any developments, okay?"

            "Sure," Akito murmured glumly. 

Minato gave him a quick hug before walking back down the corridor. Akito watched her go and then turned his dumb gaze back to the vending machine. 

_"Don't let it get to me? Huh. How can I just ignore the way Ruri is? The fact is she's dying and there's nothing I can do to save her!"_

Both those truths were undeniable. He'd blown his chance of saving her earlier today. Now she was beyond his help, and possibly the help of modern medicine as well.

He abruptly turned away from the vending machine and started walking away. However, rather than returning to the relative's room he headed the other way down the corridor towards the room in which they were keeping Ruri. As painful as it was to see her suffering so badly, he knew he should make the most of the little time she had left. Besides, there was no knowing for sure when she would choose to let go and he would be damned if he was going to let her die alone.  

As he pushed open the door to the room, he noted how dark it was inside. He saw Ruri's still form lying in the bed, currently the only occupant of the room. At this time, with all treatment possibilities exhausted, there was no need for a doctor to tend to her – a machine next to her bed monitored her condition and would call for assistance if there was any change in her condition. Because of that, it was just her and him alone in the room at present.

"Hi," he said, closing the door behind him very quietly (somewhat pointlessly he realised – what was he trying to do, not wake her?!) and crossing slowly over to the bed. His greeting received no reply, not that he'd expected one. With a sigh, he seated himself in the chair by her bed, rested his hands on his lap and started to fiddle nervously with his fingers. After taking the time to pluck up the necessary courage, he forced himself to look down on his fallen princess.  

She was so tiny and pale, lying there on the bed. Without her typical stoic expression and confident posture one could have mistaken her for a normal girl, not the child prodigy that Akito knew her to be. It made her look all the more innocent and defenceless. Akito bit his lip to hold in the tears that threatened to spill. What kind of a sick mind must a man have to want to hurt this darling child?

            He suddenly cursed himself for not pulling the trigger on that stranger when he'd had the chance. 

Shaking his head clear of murderous thoughts, he concentrated on Ruri again, taking a closer look at the unconscious girl. He'd hoped to see at least some sign of improvement, but if anything, she looked weaker than before. Both her breathing and heartbeat were slow and feeble, while her skin had reached high new levels of paleness. Yet despite her critical condition, her pale childlike beauty was still there on display, standing as one last defiance to the sickness that consumed her. She was an angel lying there – a magnificent white figure with her adorable face serene in the peace of sleep and long shiny white hair serving as her wings behind her. The dim light created a surreal atmosphere, giving the girl and the room around her a hazy dreamlike quality. She was a creature from a fantasy – a pure princess of light surrounded by the boundless darkness. 

Akito tried not to let the ambience affect as he spoke. "Er, I thought I'd stop by to see if you were feeling any better," he started, his voice surprisingly calm. "I also figured you could use some company."

            Ruri didn't reply or give the slightest indication that she had heard him. Shrugging off the dull disappointment, Akito continued, though he felt a tad foolish speaking to someone who couldn't hear him or talk back.

"You know, I never thought something like this could happen to one of us," he said, holding his head up. "I always thought that we'd all be safe once the war was over. We'd all be able to go out and make real lives for ourselves and not have to worry about dying anymore." He gave a sardonic chuckle. "Guess it didn't quite turn out like that, huh?"

He cast his gaze down on to her again. Noticing that her face was glistening with sweat, he went over to the sink in the corner to wet a flannel. He then came back over to cleanse her cheeks and forehead. Her face was unresponsive to his touch, but a wash did make it look just a tad less sick than before. 

"I hate seeing you in such a bad way," he continued, putting the flannel to one side. "And the girls are worried sick about you. I wish you'd just wake up and call us all idiots for thinking you were so ill."

            She still didn't respond. Akito, struggling to sustain this one-sided conversation, moved it into deeper territory. He bent over the girl, lines forming on his face as he searched for the words he wanted to say. 

"Look, I don't know if you can hear me Ruri, but I just want to apologise," he eventually breathed. He bowed his head in shame as he continued. "I can't believe I let this happen to you. I guess I was just too preoccupied with the whole detention thing. We all thought that you were being looked after and that you would be okay, even if you weren't with us. I mean, on the Nadesico you always seemed so self-assured and confident, it was hard to imagine that you could ever have problems. I guess we just always saw you as the computer operator and hardly ever as the little girl you really are." He covered his face in his hands. "I was such a blind fool! I forced myself to believe that you'd be okay by yourself because there was no way I could help you! Then I was too damn useless to save you when I did have the chance!" He kicked the floor in a sudden surge of self-loathing. 

"I can't believe I failed you so badly. I'm meant to be your knight, aren't I? I'm supposed to protect you! Damn, I'm such a worthless idiot!" He bit down hard on his own teeth and drove his fist into his thigh, inflicting a fair amount of pain on his leg. Not that he felt it – by now he was teetering on the edge of total despair. For many seconds, he just sat there trembling, dominated by the foul cocktail of anger and anguish inside of him. The silence had grown long by the time he eventually brought his head up again. Sitting up, he leaned in nearer to the comatose girl.

"Ruri, I promise you. If you pull through I'll never let anyone harm you again. Whether it's as a father, friend, knight or whatever, I'll protect you forever."

Maybe he wanted to enforce to his words or perhaps it was simply that the moment demanded it. Whatever it was, he suddenly found himself moving in closer to Ruri's tranquil face. Taking great care, as if the she were just as delicate as the beauty she held, he brushed back her fringe and kissed her tenderly on her forehead. When he drew back again, his eyes were brimful with tears. 

"God, you don't deserve to be lying there, waiting to die. You're just a kid! And you've seen so little of life." Akito found his voice choked as he spoke. "You had your whole childhood stolen from you. You've never had your own life, everything you've ever done has been for someone else's greater purpose. And now you're going to die, before you've ever really lived." His voice broke in sorrow on the final word. Overcome with emotion, he suddenly took up her dead hand and clutched it with both his own, his eyes leaking desperate tears. 

"Please wake up Ruri. Wake up and I promise we'll give you the life you've always deserved!" Those were the last words he was able to speak, for despair finally overwhelmed him. Flinging his head down, he wept for friend who had been deprived of not only her future, but of every day of her life. His choked sobs echoed in the dark corners of the room, as frail and wretched as the broken man producing them in the chair beside the bed.

As great as Akito's grief was, it did nothing to revive her. It would take more than yearning words to drag her out this coma. Ruri was too far gone to hear or respond to anything, save a call from the heavens above. And so, while Akito wept, the pale prodigy just slept on, oblivious to his anguish and the torment he was putting himself through. The blank response was befitting, not only to Ruri's normal demeanour, but to the total absence of hope that hung in the air of the room. 

Given the extent of Akito's sorrow, it wasn't surprising that he hadn't realised he had been watched the whole time by a tall figure standing in the doorway. The shadowy visitor kept her secrecy throughout, viewing the scene with interest, and just a touch of pity. She observed Akito a few moments longer, one contemplative finger on her chin, before revealing herself by speaking. 

            "A sleeping princess. Perhaps she'll awaken to a kiss from her Prince Charming."

            Breaking out of his misery Akito vaulted around at the voice and gasped at who he saw standing there.

            "Miss Fressange!?" 

            "The very same," replied the blonde scientist, walking into the room with her hands in her pockets. "It would appear that the cavalry has finally arrived."

**A/N – The moment of truth is nigh...**

**I know that according to what I said last time there should only be one chapter left, but I've had a bit of a rethink and decided that there's going to be a mini chapter before the final chapter. That one should be up soon, so keep an eye out for it.**

**All the best for the 2003!**


	27. TwentySeven

**A/N – Happy New Year!**

**Twenty-Seven**

            _She was falling through chaos, drowning in a sea of her own thoughts. Ruri allowed the invisible currents to toss her to and fro, being far too weak to resist their indomitable power. Hazy memories and contemplations passed her by, though they were too brief, numerous and vague for her to register them properly. It was like watching a slideshow of her life, being played before her eyes at lightning speed. But in spite of all this mental havoc, one question was able to penetrate the disorder to rise up and dominate over everything else in her mind. _

_"Where do I belong?"_

_            The forces carrying her weakened steadily and eventually they ceased altogether, setting her gently on her feet. Gradually the indistinct images around her took on more definite and familiar forms, though it was still hard to see exactly what they were. Ruri just watched them blankly, reliving irrelevant memories from her past life as they streamed past her like posters from a subway train. The effect was mesmerizing and Ruri found herself completely immersed in them.  _

_            She stood there hypnotised for an indefinite amount of time. Then a voice behind her came from out of the blue to shatter her deep stupor. _

_            "Oh there you are, Ruri."_

_            Ruri whirled around instantly and gasped in shock at who she saw. Standing right there were the King and Queen of Peaceland, her genetic parents. Her father, wearing a solemn expression underneath his bushy black beard, had one hand outstretched to her._

_            "Come to us Ruri. Come to your Mama and Papa." _

_            "Yes," The tall white-haired woman next to him also reached out to her. "You belong with your parents."_

_            Ruri took a step back, her lips trembling as her mouth parted. "No. No! I'm not your daughter!" _

_            "But of course you are. Come back to your family, dear Ruri." Both figures started to walk towards her, their slow steps synchronised in perfect unison. On their third step, several identical white-haired boys materialised either side of them, joining the sluggish advance. Together they stared at her with vacant eyes and spoke in toneless chorus. _

_            "Greetings Princess Ruri. Our dearest older sister."_

_            "No!" gasped Ruri in defiance, backing away even further. Her 'family' followed her with slow purposeful paces, their dead faces and regular movements making them seem possessed. Ruri retreated step by step, until suddenly her back bumped against something. With a yelp, she turned to face the obstacle._

_            "Well, if it isn't the robot!"_

_            A stocky boy stood before her, leering like a troll. His broad shoulders and very short hair made him look like a street thug despite his young age. Ruri actually shrieked in shock as she recognised him – Leon, the ruthless bully from the orphanage. His similarly ruthless friends stood behind him, every one sporting the same cruel smirk. _

_            "We don't like ugly freaks like you on our turf," the rascal stated scornfully. "We're going to make your life hell!" He shoved her roughly in the shoulder, causing her to fall back a step. Ruri could only gape at him._

_            "Come on, let's see how loud she can scream!" one kid shouted. _

_            "Good idea!" Leon reached out to grab her face, a malicious sneer playing on his own._

_"Leave me alone!" Ruri wheezed, pushing him away. Without another thought, she turned and ran, totally confused and afraid. She felt them chasing her, coming closer and closer with every step she took. No matter how fast she tried to run, she could sense them bearing down on her, only a few inevitable seconds away from catching her and exacting their perverse justice. Their seeking hands were almost touching her when a new voice came._

_"Why, Miss Hoshino. So glad you could join us."_

_Choking on her shocked breath, Ruri looked towards the source. There she saw the Chairman of Nergal himself, standing with poise and smirking with the boundless arrogance that characterized him. Beside him was his secretary Erina, reflecting his superiority as ever. Both of them stood before a colossal wall of fire which roared intensely like a forge of hell. _

_"Ruri Hoshino is finally with us! My perfect little computer wiz** is here to help us bring justice to the solar system. Finally, she realises where she truly belongs."**_

_Upon his final word, the flames behind him parted, revealing a scene more horrifying than anything Ruri had ever seen in her short life. Looking past the duo from Nergal, she saw a countless number of burning skeletons, flailing around and howling in agony as one by one the flames reduced them to ash. Their tortured screams tore into the very fibre of Ruri's being. A million dying Jovians – it was a nightmare beyond comprehension.  _

_"Come to us Ruri," Akatsuki stated, seemingly oblivious to the carnage taking place behind him. "With our talents combined the universe is ours to rule!" _

_"No! Never!" Ruri gasped. "I'm not a murderer like you!"_

_Akatsuki__ grinned down at her. "We both know you're wrong. On the contrary, it's what you do best!" _

_"That's not true!"_

_"Of course it is, there's no point in denying it! Your cute looks disguise your ultimate nature - you are a tool of destruction to be wielded at my will!" _

_"No! I am not your pawn. I refuse to be!"_

_"THEN YOU MUST DIE!"_

_Ruri screamed out loud as she spun around because she knew exactly who she was going to see. _

_            Matador. _

_            Ruri's pupils contracted in fear as she looked upon the man whose image was now forever engraved in her nightmares. The long scar, the gruesome eye, that expression which embodied all of mankind's filthiest traits. It was him alright, the man whose warped visage correlated perfectly with his warped mind, not to mention his black heart. Grinning like a demon, he closed in on her, holding his terrible jagged knife in one hand and beckoning her with the other. _

_"Here kitty, kitty," _

_"No…" whispered Ruri, her strength lost to fear. She felt like screaming again but couldn't draw the breath. There was just too much terror in her, standing before a man who had made it his mission to end her life at all costs. She was frozen to the spot – she couldn't have run even if there had been a place to run to. As it was, the assassin had occupied her last remaining egress. There was no escape for her now – she was trapped. Her most hated enemies now surrounded her, each one representing a path that would ultimately destroy who she was. She looked frantically from one cruel face to another as they advanced on her, her cold fear finally giving way to hysterical panic.  _

_"This cannot be happening! It isn't possible!" she shouted out loud. _

_            Her denial didn't change anything – it was__ happening and there was no way she could stop it. The world fell away around her as captors gradually closed their ring on her. She was trapped in a cinema of her most terrible memories – Akatsuki's haughty laughter, the jeering faces of countless spiteful children and, worst of all, the malevolent assassin with his foul weapon and fouler expression. It was more than her mind could cope with. _

_            "NO!" she cried, completely overwhelmed by the awful blend of terror and confusion. She fell to her knees, shoved her hands on her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. Shaking her head hysterically, she screamed with all the strength she could muster. _

_            "Go away! Go away! GO AWAY!"_

_            She didn't feel them reach her. Innumerable colours flared across her vision, but there was no pain anywhere. Nor any other sensations save for the overpowering maelstrom of light which wrenched the control from her consciousness. This brilliant flashing spectrum consumed her like flames around newspaper. She knew that something was happening to her but had no clue what it was or even whether it was healing or killing her. Not that knowing would change it – she was resigned to her fate, whatever it was._

_            And then all light was gone. _

_Even with her eyes closed, Ruri could sense the darkness around her, perfectly complimented by the sudden ghostly silence. The transition from limitless commotion to this complete nothingness had occurred in a microsecond – it was as if the world around her had simply blinked out of existence. Ruri didn't even what to contemplate what that could mean. She stayed where she was and cowered with her fists balled into her face, refusing to open her eyes to see what terrible reality she was now in.      _

_            "Ruri," _

_Huh? Ruri slowly opened her eyes at the mention of her name. That calm voice, that oh-so-familiar tone. It belonged to someone she knew and loved. No, that was impossible! There was no way it could be him!_

_            And yet it was. _

_With deliberate movements, she stood up and turned around to face him, her face slack in wonder. All her oppressors had vanished and now only one person stood before her. One special person. A person who, over the course of the last year, had come to occupy a greater place in her heart than any other. _

_            "Ruri," repeated Akito Tenkawa, Aestivalis pilot and ship's cook. Though his face was plain, his dark brown eyes were questioning, like he was waiting for a response from her. _

_            "Mr Tenkawa?" Ruri whispered in inquiry. Her voice was weak, as if speaking louder would somehow dispel the illusion and send him away.          _

_            Akito didn't reply, his only response being to extend a hand towards her. He nodded eagerly to her, inviting her to come and take it. For a second, Ruri just stood, gaping at him in awe. Then she collected her jaw and spoke. _

_            "Is this the answer? Is this what I've been looking for all this time?"_

_            There was no response. Akito didn't even give any indication of hearing her, just stood there holding his position.          _

_            "Please tell me! I have to know!" she cried desperately. _

_Still he did not reply. Keeping her gaze fixed on him, Ruri racked her brains, trying to comprehend just what this all meant. After so much searching and heartache, had she finally found the solution? Did the key to her prison of sorrow lie here before her?_

_She knew only one thing for sure. She had to try it or regret it for the rest of her days._

_            Not wasting another second, she pelted towards Akito as fast as her tiny legs could take her. Her knight awaited her arrival with a smile, crouching down and opening his arms to receive her. Her goal now within sight, Ruri ran with fervent eagerness, like a toddler running to the loving embrace of her daddy. Akito's smile widened further as she approached, urging her on. _

_            "This is it! It has to be! Please wait Mr Tenkawa, I'm coming!"_

_She was but a finger away from him when the world exploded into darkness. _

**A/N – Yet another dubious ending.**** Sorry 'bout that. **

**Well, just the final chapter and epilogue to go now. They're both well underway, but it may still take a while to get them finished. I'm going to put them both up together, so the next update will be the story's conclusion. But will it be a happy or sad one? You'll have to wait to find out! :-)**

**See you for the finale…**


	28. TwentyEight

**A/N – Okay, I know I said that this update would be the finale, but I'm afraid that's not the case. You see, the 'final' chapter turned out to be much, much longer than I thought it would be, so I split it into two separate ones, of which this is the first. The second one plus the epilogue will be on their way soon enough. Enjoy the chapter – you'll finally get some answers in this one!**

**Twenty-Eight**

Somewhere along the line Ruri's world had become so much simpler. In fact she could only discern two concrete facts about her current reality. The first was a dull throbbing pain at her temples, which, while subtle, still ached enough to prevent her doze from becoming a deep sleep. The second factor was the darkness that surrounded her. It was blackness beyond compare, as if she had awoken in a world from which all light and colour had been banished. It was the darkness that belonged to death and indeed, Ruri might have assumed that was the case had she not had the headache to contradict that. The pain told her that somehow she was alive. She found that surprising – she was sure she wasn't meant to be for some reason. She shelved it as a matter to be dealt with later. For now she would sleep.

            She snoozed dreamlessly for an indefinite period of time. It could have been a minute or a year later when she felt conscious enough of think again. Weariness ensnared both her body and mind like a trapper's net, meaning the more she struggled for consciousness and order in her thoughts, the more tangled in confusion she became. Part of her wanted to lie here in formless slumber forever, but some inner instinct demanded that she rose and faced the day. 

"Omoikane, lights," she murmured sleepily.

Nothing happened. Her request faded unanswered in the air and the darkness around her remained. 

"Omoikane?" she repeated, a tad concerned. "Put the lights on, please,"

Still there was no change. For some reason the computer was not responding to her voice. She couldn't be sure why, but she doubted it was due to any kind of computer error – Omoikane was too reliable for that. Perhaps it was simply a faulty bulb?

Then she remembered. She was no longer on the Nadesico. That life had ended weeks ago and was gone forever now. 

_"But if I'm not on the Nadesico, where on Earth am I?" _

In the desire to find out she forced her unwilling eyes open, breaking the crust that had formed on them. At first she saw only darkness and all she could tell was that she was lying down in a bed somewhere. Gradually her eyes adjusted to the dim light and she could make out the vague shape of the small room. When she rotated her head on her pillow to face her right side, she could see a considerably array of equipment beside her bed, their tiny red and green lights puncturing the absolute darkness. Most of it was unfamiliar to her, but she did recognise a heart-monitor, which peeped quietly with her every heartbeat. The sound reassured her – it was regular and moderately spaced. In other words, it was normal.  

_"Wherever I am, it seems that I am alive."_

The relief that washed over her was more refreshing than any drink, wash or night's sleep she'd ever had. She'd done it. She had survived the ordeal. And in truth, aside from her pounding headache and drowsy mind, she'd never felt healthier. It was like all the pain and trauma of her recent life had just been some dreadful nightmare from which she was now awakening. Of course, she wasn't so naive to assume that was the case – she had the bruises to prove otherwise.

            The realisation that she was no longer dying furthered fuelled her curiosity as to her current whereabouts, so she decided to sit up. It would be a major operation – she was barely awake enough to think, let alone move – but nevertheless she would try it. Calling upon all the energy she had, she forced her head off the pillow and her back off the bed. 

            No sooner was she upright then some force caught her, cutting off her motion so that she rebounded back horizontal. Before she knew it, she found herself on her back again. The prickly shock that barbed through her body was matched by a smarting sting in her upper arms. 

            _"Huh? What happened?"_

It didn't take her long to find the cause. When she brought her hand up to clutch the site of the pain, it encountered something odd. Ruri investigated it with her fingers – it felt like some kind of plastic piping, leading into her left shoulder. Utterly bewildered, she opened her eyes again, yelping in surprise at what she saw. Several mysterious black tubes ran into her arms and shoulders like veins. They were each only a few millimetres in diameter and came from some unseen source behind her, making her look like a disused puppet with her strings loose around her. Seeing them there explained what had just happened – they'd been pulled taunt when she'd lunged up, stopping her going any further forward. And then, her forward momentum had been strong enough to throw her back down again, similar to when a dog tried to break his leash by running against it. It made sense now, but what in the name of Mars were they?

            By carefully moving her lower-body backwards, she was able to attain an upright seating position within the demands of her bonds. A quick inspection revealed that not only were they attached to her arms, but from places all over her body. There were at least twenty of them altogether, most of them protruding from her upper body and head. Each one connected a seemingly random point on her body to a sinister-looking machine at the head of her bed. They were fairly short and severely restricted her movement, making her feel unnervingly like a fly caught in a spider's web. Ruri had no clue as to their purpose, but had a feeling that removing them herself would be a very bad idea. They had obviously been put there for a reason and she wasn't prepared to jeopardise her survival just to alleviate her foolish impatience.  

            As if these strange tubes weren't enough, Ruri was in for a further surprise when she rested her hands on top of the covers. The sight of her nanomachine implants on the backs of her hands made her gape in shock. Normally when they weren't in use, they reflected light, but produced none of their own. Now however, they were blazing so brightly that they were painful to look at. It was as if the delicate markings on her hands were windows into a very sunny midsummer's day. Ruri was astonished at seeing them this way – sure, they glowed when she accessed the Nadesico's interface with them, but never like this. They were so dazzling that it was impossible to stare at the directly. She had no clue at all as to what it meant, but the effect proved useful since it provided enough light for her to be able to scan the rest of the chamber. 

            Well, it certainly had all the makings            of a hospital room. It was sparsely furnished, with only a couple of chairs aside from the bed she was in. There was a distinct 'hospital smell' hanging in the air, supporting Ruri's guess as to her current location. She saw a door in the corner, while the far wall was lined with windows into the dimly lit corridor beyond. Surrounding the bed were various medical apparatus, possibly the very devices that were keeping her alive. Among those high-tech gizmos was a plain bedside table, on which a tall glass of water sat. Seeing it there made her suddenly aware of how desperately thirsty she was, so she instantly reached out for it. Initially she was frustrated by the tubes that held her back, but at full stretch she was just able to seize it in her hand. Without hesitating, she threw the deliciously cool water down her throat, spilling much of it down herself in her eagerness. She gasped in relief as her thirst subsided.   

            Letting the empty glass roll out of her grasp onto the floor (it would have been too much hassle to replace it on the table), she rested her hands on her lap and took a deep breath. By now she was more awake and desperately wanted to rise and search for some answers. Of course, that would be impossible unless she removed these tubes that restrained her. With them in place, she was a prisoner confined to this bed. She exhaled hard in frustration. 

            _"You have no right to be annoyed. You're lucky to be alive."_

            Taking that thought to heart, she willed patience on herself and accepted that she wasn't going anywhere until assistance came. With a sigh, she ran both her hands through her unbound hair, grimacing at how greasy it felt under her fingers. A shower suddenly seemed a heavenly prospect. A meal would be good as well, if only to get rid of the foul taste in her mouth. She'd have to wait for both those desires to be fulfilled, but they were certainly worth waiting for. 

            As it turned out she didn't have as much time to kill as she first thought. Five minutes later, the impossible came to pass.

The first signs of difference came when her acute hearing picked up some very faint footsteps in the distance, breaking the monotony of the bleeps around her. Instantly alert, she sat up and listened attentively as the steps became louder and louder. Someone was coming! Eyes wide in anticipation, Ruri held her breath as she watched the inside window for the first glimpse of this visitor.

It was a young girl, perhaps a year or two older than herself, who appeared in the corridor. Ruri studied her curiously, pale lips parting in scrutiny. She looked all too familiar. Yes, that superior poise, contradicting a slight stature, was unmistakable. Could it possibly be who she thought it was?

_"Yukina?"_

A second later the girl turned to her and Ruri's hopeful suspicions were confirmed.

The instant of recognition sent wild electricity shooting down her spine. But the look that burst onto Yukina's face – it was as if she'd seen her brother's ghost. Her eyes doubled in size and her mouth plunged open in sheer disbelief at seeing her sitting up in bed. Still reeling with her own shock, Ruri gaped back at her with an expression that mirrored the other girl's perfectly. For a moment they just stared dumbly at each other, refusing to believe their respective visions. The elder girl recovered first and turned to shout out to someone further down the corridor, so loudly that Ruri could hear her perfectly even from inside the room. 

_"She's awake! She's awake!"_

A frenzied exclamation answered her call, followed by pounding footsteps in their direction. Three more figures burst into view, each one turning to gawk at her like a goldfish. Ruri choked on a silent gasp – she recognised all three of them. Akito, Yurika and Minato. A trio engraved deeply in her memory and deeper still in her heart. 

_"I don't believe it! What are they doing here!?" _

She didn't have time to speculate. In the space of a second, the group's shock turned to ecstasy and they all cried out as one. 

"RURI!" 

Without the slightest hesitation, they all scrambled into the room, falling over themselves to get to the girl within. Someone hit the lights, causing her to slam her eyes shut as she was blinded. Before she even knew what was happening, two slender arms swooped around her, pulling her face into Yurika's considerable bosom.  

"Oh Ruri, you're finally back!" the blue-haired woman squealed, her face dripping with delight as she hugged the child. "We were just _so_ worried about you! We thought you'd never wake up, but you have! _You have!" She pulled her closer, nuzzling the top of her head and chuckling with glee. _

Ruri was dumbfounded. The suddenness of this appearance, not to mention this display of affection, had caught her completely off guard and unsure of how to react. Had her arms not been tied down by the strange black wires, she would have considered hugging her back, but at the moment all she could do was sit and accept Yurika's cosy embrace. 

"Oh, I'm just so happy!" her former captain cried, her voice cracking in emotion. "We thought we'd lost you forever!" She laughed soundlessly to the air as she clutched the child to her chest. Despite herself, Ruri found some gladness amongst the shock within her. Unbelievable as it sounded, she'd missed this ditzy nature _so, so much._

_"Captain…"_

Yurika eventually released the girl, surprising her with a quick kiss on the cheek before she withdrew. She was instantly replaced by Minato, who engulfed her with the same motherly warmth and boundless merriment that Yurika had. "Oh it's just so great to see you again, Ruri-Ruri! You won't believe how relieved we were when they told us you'd recovered!" She released her grip slightly to look the pale girl straight in the eye. "Don't ever scare us like that again, okay?!" Squeezing her tightly once more, she parted with a smile to make way for Yukina. 

            "Hiya Ruri!" the Jovian teenager exclaimed happily, throwing her arms around her. "I'm so happy that you're all better. I always knew you'd make it!" 

The strange familiarity in her embrace puzzled Ruri – she'd barely had a conversation with Yukina and yet there was genuine fondness in this gesture. As if sensing her confusion the Jovian girl pulled away quickly, seemingly embarrassed by what was an abnormal display of warmth from her. Her departure left only one person yet to come. Ruri looked expectantly at Akito, who gave her a friendly smile and slowly walked over to take his turn. When he bent down to hug her, she saw unspilt tears shining in his brown eyes, telling of the passionate relief that underlay his happy façade.

"Welcome back, Princess."

Hearing him call her that stirred something within her. Forgoing any fears of pain, she leaned forward and put her own arms around him, crushing her face to his chest and stretching her puppet strings to the limit so that she could claim the embrace she'd been denied in her dream. The gesture seemed to surprise him, but he accepted it gladly and held her close. Ruri could feel his body quivering against hers with some unknown emotion as they clung to each other.   

"Oh Ruri, Ruri. I'm so sorry!" he told her in a tremulous whisper.  

            Ruri blinked, confused. _"He's sorry? For what?" _She didn't speak the question though, not wanting to spoil this wonderful moment in the adoring arms of her champion. She hung onto him stubbornly as if he'd vanish again unless she held him as tightly as she could. For some time, they just stayed there together in their divine grasp, blissfully savouring each other's company after being separated for so long. When they eventually did part and Akito drew away, she saw that his eyes had burst and silent tears were running helplessly down his cheeks. Ruri was stunned.      

_"He's crying? How come? Are those tears really for me?" _

The former pilot took a few steps back, looking away from everyone to regain his composure. In the meantime Yurika and Minato had occupied the chairs and were both grinning at her like idiots, while Yukina had sat herself on the end of her bed, holding a somewhat more dignified happiness about her. Yurika had taken Ruri's hand affectionately in her own and was squeezing it in joy, while beaming encouragingly at her. They seemed to be waiting for her to make a contribution, but Ruri found that she couldn't form proper words as of yet. All this high emotion had left her dazed and light-headed, unable to think straight. Fortunately, Yurika was more than happy enough to fill the silence for her. 

"Oh Ruri, we can't tell you how glad we all are that you've recovered! Do you feel okay now? Are you hungry at all? Or would you like a glass of water?" 

_"Yes, yes and yes," Ruri thought. But more than anything, she wanted answers. Her mind was abuzz with a million different questions – she couldn't ask them quickly enough. She breathlessly delivered the foremost one, forcing the words from her reluctant throat. _

"W-What are you all doing here?"

Judging by the looks on their faces, the question seemed to baffle them. "Whatever do you mean Ruri?" asked Yurika, genuinely confused. "We weren't going to leave you here while you were sick, where we? We had to stay and make sure you made a full recovery!" 

Ruri rubbed her head – all this excitement wasn't helping her migraine any. "But you were all detained by the UEAF," she said, stating the obvious.

            "We were, but we managed to weasel our way out of it!" said Minato, grinning brightly. "But that's more than enough about us. How are _you feeling?"_

            "Relatively healthy overall, although I have a minor headache and feel a little tired," Ruri replied in her bland, 'status-report' voice. "I doubt it's anything that a bit of rest won't cure."

            "That's so wonderful to hear!" beamed Yurika, softly stroking the girl's delicate hand with her thumb. Her long blue hair swung around her, as enthusiastic as she was. 

            "What do you mean you're tired? You can't be tired!" Yukina stated with an accusing glare. "You've been asleep for three whole days!"

            "Three days!?" inquired Ruri, her face lengthening in amazement. "Was I really out for that long?"

            "Yep, it's nearly three o'clock on Thursday afternoon now," said Minato. "You've been in a coma since Monday."

            "A coma," Ruri murmured thoughtfully, taking the notion onboard. "Yes, I remember being poisoned on the Nadesico by that horrible assassin. But I was dying, I know I was." She turned her eyes back to the group. "How did I survive?"

            "I think I can explain that."

            Ruri's eyes shot to the door. Another familiar figure had entered in the tall, blonde form of a Miss Inez Fressange, Nergal scientist and former science officer of the High Mobile Battleship Nadesico. Ruri's astonishment hit a new level.  

            "Miss Fressange? What are you doing here?"

            Inez smiled in response. "Treating you, if you want to know." 

"She did it all, Ruri!" chirped Yurika, eyes closed in joy. "She cured you and made you all better!"

Inez coughed self-consciously. "Well, I certainly helped."

"But why are you here?" Ruri shook her head, dismissing that question. "Actually never mind that. How were you able to cure me?"

"Do you want the full explanation?"

"Yes, very much so."

"As you wish," Inez adopted her familiar explanation tone and began.

"The poison injected into you was a real enigma. It was like nothing we'd ever seen and seemed incurable by normal remedies. It was horrible concoction, whatever it was and we estimated that the dose you received would have killed a normal human in a matter of hours."

"So why did I survive?"

Miss Fressange smiled. "You hardly count as a 'normal human', Ruri. The genetic modification conducted on you before your birth equipped you with an incredibly powerful immune system, meaning your body was able to fight back against the poison, at least to a certain extent. And although it wasn't able to fully counteract the substance, it did keep you alive long enough for me to apply nanomachine therapy." 

"Nanomachine therapy?" 

"Yes. It's a relatively new process, still in experimental stages. It involves taking control of the nanomachines inside you in order to stimulate certain reactions in your body. With all that machinery around your bed, it is possible to manipulate the nanomachines within you for healing purposes, using those wires attached to you as a link. While highly dangerous if not administered correctly, this form of treatment can nevertheless be very effective since it allows us to take almost full control of your bodily functions. In this case, we concentrated on removing the toxins from the blood and repairing the damage inside you. And I'm glad to say it worked like a charm. As of Tuesday lunchtime all traces of the poison had been purged from your body and it was clear that you would live. Naturally enough, the treatment left you totally exhausted and I'm not surprised you needed a couple of days to rest up before you awoke."

"I see. I assume this treatment is also responsible for this as well?" Ruri held up her hand to show her glowing implants. 

"Yes, that's right," replied the doctor, squinting as the intense light hit her eyes. "You are still linked to the machine, so your nanomachines are still functioning at an increased rate. I'd like to leave them like that for a while longer, so I can monitor your condition and make sure no unforeseen effects crop up. After all there's no point in being hasty when it comes to your health, is there?"

"I guess not," Ruri replied, a little frustrated. In her opinion, the sooner she was rid of these bonds, the better, but it looked as though she'd have to spend a while longer trussed up like a turkey on Christmas Day.    

"You're a very lucky girl, you know," continued the Nergal scientist. "You're the only person in the world with both your superior genes and nanomachines, the combination of which was vital to your survival. Your unique nature is what ultimately saved you."

            "It was my unique nature that endangered me in the first place," Ruri murmured, somewhat bitterly. She then brought her head up with a question to cut off any reply Miss Fressange might have had. 

            "I sent you an e-mail last Friday. Did you ever receive it?"

            Inez bit the edge of her lip as she formed a guilty smile. "Yes, I did eventually," she replied steadily. "Unfortunately, it was old news by the time I read it. I did try and contact you at the orphanage but you were long gone by then. Not knowing where you could possibly have gone, I wasn't sure how I could find and aid you. Fortunately soon after you were admitted here, the hospital staff contacted me to chase up your medical records, me having been your medical officer onboard the Nadesico. Of course, once I heard you were here I immediately came to offer my assistance."

            "I see," breathed Ruri. She bowed her head in gratitude to her, allowing a mass of chaste white hair to drop over her face. "Your treatment saved my life. Thank you Miss Fressange, I am in your debt."

"Oh, think nothing of it Ruri," replied the scientist, dismissing it with a small flick of her hand. "I'm just glad I got here in time to help. Besides, if anyone deserves your thanks, it's Akito and Yurika. After all they're the ones that found you and brought you here." 

"Huh?" Ruri inquired, tucking loose hair behind her ears as she looked up questioningly at the couple. "You're the ones who found me?"

"Well yeah, kind of," said Akito, scratching the back of his head self-consciously. "When you weren't at the orphanage, we figured the Nadesico was the only other place you would be."

"Yes, we came onboard literally minutes after that horrible assassin poisoned you," added Yurika. "In fact, he was still there when we arrived."      

"You met Matador?" Ruri said, voice wavering as she spoke the demon's name. 

"Yeah, we did," said Akito. "We had a fight, but he got away from me." He spread his arms. "But the irony is that the UEAF found his body a day later amid a whole load of wreckage at the bottom of one of the ship's elevator shafts. Apparently, he had a fatal accident with one of the lifts." 

"Good thing too," murmured Yukina under her breath. 

"An accident?" mused Ruri thoughtfully, a dubious look momentarily displayed on her face. "I wonder." She shook her head, abruptly dismissing the thought. "Well, it doesn't matter now in any case," Turning back to the couple, she held them in her gorgeous gaze. 

"Captain, Mr Tenkawa, thank you. I can never repay you for what you've done for me." She ducked her head in their direction, solemn gratefulness on her face. 

"Oh don't talk like that Ruri! We did what we had to do." said Yurika, sandwiching the girl's hand with both her own. 

"Yeah," Akito added. "We're just happy that you're alive and well. And in any case, well…" He trailed off, despondent all of a sudden. Noticing his rapid drop in demeanour, Ruri asked him about it. 

"What is it?"

The cook shrugged negatively, his smile now gone. "It's just that I don't really deserve your thanks." His head and voice fell as one at the end of the sentence.  

Ruri leant forward and seized his eyes with her own. "What do you mean?"

Akito grimaced awkwardly, as if the words in his mouth were painful to say out loud.  "I…I should have defended you from that assassin, Ruri. I shouldn't have allowed him to hurt you like that," He closed his eyes in sincere shame. "You nearly died because I wasn't there to protect you."

"Let me get this straight," said Ruri, not quite believing what she was hearing. "You're blaming _yourself for what happened to me?"_

"Well, yeah. I mean, I should have…"  
            "Mr Tenkawa, you are such an idiot!"

Normally she only used her favourite word behind her fellow crewmember's backs, but this time she just couldn't hold it in. The sheer irrationality of his guilt was too much to take. Her little outburst had a clear effect on the others – Akito was gaping at her, astounded by this sudden affront, while the other three girls were all clasping their mouths to contain their laughter. Reprimanding him with her gaze, Ruri spoke heavily.  

"Mr Tenkawa, while I was a target for assassination you were behind bars. There was nothing you could have done to help me even if you'd known that I was in trouble, which you didn't. How could you have possibly been expected to protect me under such circumstances?"

"But all the same I should have…"

"Please, no buts Mr Tenkawa. I don't blame you for what happened in the slightest, so there is no reason for you to blame yourself. And in any case, you _did_ help me in the end." The ends of her lips curved upward the tiniest fraction. "You saved my life. You were there for me when I needed you the most."

"She's right, Akito," laughed Minato. "Honestly, didn't you listen _at all_ when we talked about this before?!"

With a minute chuckle, Akito shook his head. "I guess not. Look, thanks for forgiving me, Ruri."

"I did not forgive you Mr Tenkawa," Ruri replied, shaking her head in exasperation as much as rebuff. "Before a person can forgive there has to have been a transgression first and you have never _ever_ done anything to offend or harm me. Please drop it, Mr Tenkawa. If you feel guilty about this, so will I."

"Well, okay Ruri," said Akito, taken aback by her strength of her insistence. He had to concede to her demand – not only was her logic infallible, but it was impossible to argue against those remarkable eyes.

A brief silence descended on the group, indicating that the conversation was anyone's for the taking. Minato started to say something, but closed her mouth when Yukina butted in first with a question. 

"Hey Ruri," the Jovian redhead started. "What exactly was the deal with the assassin?" 

Ruri granted Yukina her gaze. "Matador?"

"Yeah," said the elder girl, leaning forward and regarding her with a suspicious interest. "I still don't understand why Akatsuki sent someone to kill you.  And also why he'd send you to an orphanage first." She made it sound like an accusation. 

"Yukina, I don't think she wants to talk about that now," murmured Minato, interrupting her quickly.

"No, it's alright," Ruri assured her. For some reason, she had an urge to tell them everything that had happened to her. Perhaps sharing her experience would help her straighten out the events in her own mind and relieve some of the emotional stress they'd caused her. "It's a long story though," she added. "Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Absolutely, Ruri!" said Yurika. "You've had such an adventure. We'd love to hear it if you're up to it!" 

"Very well," Ruri nodded. Everybody gathered in closer to her to hear the incredible tale of her recent life. Taking a long breath, she began. 

"It started out on the day we returned to Earth. I was manning the bridge alone, when Mr Akatsuki came in and made me an offer..." 

*          *            *

The day passed much quicker than the anxious ones preceding it had. The restless hours of waiting for Ruri to awaken had been replaced by moments of glorious euphoria in Akito's schedule. He felt great and why shouldn't he? Against all odds Ruri had escaped the icy grip of death to come back to their world. The girl, whose life had been in the balance only three days ago, had woken up to full recovery and everything was right with the world because of that.

The past few hours may have been dull to another person in different circumstances, but to Akito they had been absolutely magical. Yurika, Minato, Yukina and himself had all sat around Ruri's bed and swapped their story for hers over a tasteless hospital lasagne. Even though he'd already heard the shocking details off her orphanage roommate, he was newly fascinated by Ruri's first-hand account of her brushes with death. Listening to it had been like watching a film which he knew had a happy ending, and because of that he had felt positive throughout. It was just so wonderful to see her talking and moving around again, as if she'd never been sick at all. Akito felt more elated then he'd ever been and he knew everyone else felt the same way. In fact, Yurika had literally not stopped smiling ever since the girl had awoken. 

            When the meal was over, they had given Ruri some privacy to shower and change into some clean clothes. Yurika and the girls had wandered outside to get some fresh air, having sent him back to the hospital cafeteria to hunt for ice-cream. He'd been successful on that front and was now on his way to meet up with the others again, quick as he could since the freezing tubs he carried were making his hands numb. 

He walked outside into the glaring sunshine to see Yurika sitting on a bench, waiting for him. Her smile was radiant as he approached her and she shot to her feet to greet him. 

 "Akito?"

"Yes Yurika?"

"Give me a hug!" She spread her arms to him, smiling like an angel. 

After placing his load down on the bench (to the relief of his frozen hands) Akito obliged her. Their embrace was one of love and relief, similar, but ultimately very different, to the hugs of hope and comfort they'd exchanged over the past few days.   

"She made it Akito!" Yurika whispered blissfully. 

"Yeah. Yeah she did," Akito replied, affectionately stroking her arm. 

She brought her head up and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before burrowing her face into him again. "You know," she murmured into his chest. "It's time for us to tell her."

"Tell her?" stammered Akito. "Tell her what?"

"Silly!" chuckled Yurika, snuggling further into him. "Tell her that we want to adopt her of course!"

"Oh yeah, right," replied Akito uneasily. "But are you sure that's a good idea right now? I mean, she's just woken up. Is now the right time to drop this bombshell on her?" 

"Of course it is! We've just come back into her life, so I think it's best if she starts thinking of us as parents as soon as possible. Don't you think so too?"

"Well, maybe," said Akito uncertainly, "But I think you're assuming a lot. I mean, what if she doesn't accept our offer?"

"Then she will still have us as friends and no harm will be done," Yurika declared, as if she'd had that response all lined up. "She needs to know, Akito dear. I don't want her to think that she's going to be chucked back into an orphanage again when she leaves the hospital. I want her to know that we've got a life to offer her if she wants it." Her eyes were gleaming with excitement as she said, "And think of what we'll have if she says yes!"

_"Yeah. We'll have a family." Akito thought. "__I'd be a dad. Yurika would be a mum. And we'd have our very own little girl too…"_

He gulped at the prospect – it was as frightening as it was wonderful. Not that there was doubt in his mind, he was just, well, nervous, truth be told. It wasn't that he didn't want Ruri as a daughter – few things would make him happier than to be a Papa to the girl who had none. It was the effect their proposal would have on her that concerned him most. He couldn't tell if she would accept it, reject it, or indeed be offended by it. That was part and parcel of their Ruri – while her nature was as logical as clockwork, her inner mind remained a true mystery. Who knew what she really wanted? The uncertainty scared him and he dreaded the scenario of a refusal. It would hurt deeply if Ruri turned them down, and worse still, she would feel guilty as well. He didn't want to be the one who dampened her good mood, now that she'd finally found it.

_"But Yurika's right, she needs to know our intentions. Maybe we should just go for it and deal with the consequences later." _

            "Akito?" Yurika's voice broke through his thoughts and he realised he'd been silent for a long time. He swallowed and spoke.  

"Okay Yurika. We'll tell her."__

"Oh Akito, you're so wonderful!" Yurika kissed him once again, then grabbed his arm and eagerly pulled him back towards the hospital. "Come on, let's do it!"

"Hey wait a minute!" stammered Akito, flustered by her haste. "We have to work this out first! How are we going to do it!?" 

"We'll play it by ear, Akito dearest!" Yurika replied lightly. "I'm sure we'll know what to say to her once we're in there. After all, we want our offer to come straight from the heart!" She beamed in confidence and doubled her stride, as obliviously composed as she always was when she had her mind set on something. Akito sighed in her wake. Sometimes his girlfriend was too impulsive for her own good. And though he'd assured himself over the past few days that he definitely wanted to do this, he was still deeply concerned with the ultimate question. 

_"Will Ruri really want to be our daughter?"_

            They'd know soon enough. 


	29. TwentyNine

**A/N – Here it finally is! At long last the concluding update is here and fittingly it's the largest one yet. Hope you enjoy it. **

**Twenty-Nine**

_Hi Ruri!_

_I just got a call from Miss Misumaru to tell me that you're okay. Thank God! It must have been really scary running into that assassin again and having to go to hospital, but I'm glad you're okay now. Anyway I decided to write you this letter. I hope it reaches you before you wake up._

_I was glad to hear that your friends found you in the end. You won't believe how surprised I was when they turned up at the orphanage! I talked to them for a bit and they're all so cool! They were all really worried about you as well so it's good to hear they found you before it was too late. I guess the whole experience of having someone trying to kill you must have been pretty horrible, but you got through it in the end, just like I said you would! You were so brave, I think I would have just fallen apart if it were me. You're really amazing you know – you should have your own anime series or something!_

_To be honest not much has changed here since you left. It was Tina's twelfth birthday yesterday so we had a party to celebrate that, which was fun. However, the biggest news is still your sudden disappearance. Miss Nishida is still feeling really guilty about it – she thinks it's her fault that you ran away. I've kept my promise and not told her anything, but I was wondering if you could tell her yourself when you wake up, just to make her feel better. It's up to you of course and I won't tell anyone unless you tell me to.   _

_By the way, that phrase you said when you left, something about unforgettable days. It means that memories are really important or something like that, right? Well, I hope I'm one of your good memories!_

_Hope to see you soon!_

_Mikoto__ :__ )_

_P.S. I beat __Leon__ on the Gamebase today! I managed to pull off that special move that you did! He wasn't too happy about it!_

Ruri folded up the letter and replaced it in its lilac envelope. To her own surprise, a rare smile had risen on her face as she'd read the painstakingly neat words of her former roommate. It was strange – it hadn't even been a week since she'd last seen her and yet it felt as if this message had come from a long-lost friend. Ruri was delighted that she'd made the effort to contact her so soon. 

_"I'll have to write her one back as soon as I get the chance,"  _

Yurika had given her the letter earlier on, along with the mass of gifts and cards she'd received while she'd been asleep. Everyone had sent her something. She'd received a box of Swiss chocolates from Prospector and some flowers from Jun – red tulips which now adorned her windowsill. Ryoko, Hikaru and Izumi had sent her a massive basket overflowing with all kinds of colourful fruit, while Megumi had sent her a cute cuddly rabbit toy, who'd been requisitioned by Minato the moment she'd laid eyes on it. Miss Howmei had sent her the best gift of all – a gorgeous home-made sponge-cake with the Nadesico logo depicted on its icing. Yurika had eagerly suggested that they cut a few slices to celebrate Ruri's waking-up, but Miss Fressange had forbidden it, saying that Ruri's diet would have to be simple and strictly regulated until they were totally sure of a full recovery. Ruri had known better than to argue with the doctor at that time. She'd only just persuaded her to remove that horrible wiring from her body and knew it was unlikely she'd cave twice in the same day.

In addition to the presents, Ruri had received so many 'Get Well Soon' cards that her small bedside table hadn't been able to hold them all and they'd had to put the extra ones on the machines around her bed. Ruri had been surprised, and genuinely touched, that so many people had taken the time to send their best wishes to her.  

_"This is so strange, receiving all these. Are there really so many people who care for me?"_

She couldn't bring herself to believe such a gratifying thought. 

She'd read all her cards and letters in bed, following a much-needed wash and change. She now wore her hair in her characteristic bunches and had swapped her hospital gown for a dark blue nightdress. Freshening up her hygiene and appearance had done the same thing to her spirits and with that wiring now gone, she felt as comfortable as could be. In fact, come to think of it, she felt more relaxed and carefree at present than she'd ever felt before in her young life. It was as if now her dance with death had ended, she'd finally allowed herself to loosen up and smile - a side of her she seldom let the world see, but enjoyed showing off. 

She broke out of her thoughts as the door opened to admit Minato and Yukina. The pair were holding hands as they came in, plain evidence of the close bond they had forged in the short time they had known each other. The glowing smile of the former helmswoman descended on the white-haired child as she came over and sat down next to her on the bed.  

"Hi there Ruri-Ruri! Feel better now after that?"

"Much, thank you," replied the snow-white girl, directing her tiny smile at them. Even the simple presence of the pair made her feel happier. But of course she now appreciated the true value of her friends, having been apart them during her time at the orphanage.

"Good!" said Minato. "You know, it's a shame you're cooped up in here really – it's a gorgeous day out there. Yukina and I went for a walk and it was just lovely, wasn't it?" 

"Uh-huh," murmured Yukina insipidly.

"Yes, it's like we returned from space just in time for summer!" Minato exclaimed happily. She then looked down and noted the letter lying on top of the covers. "Hey, is that a letter? Who's it from?"

Ruri looked down fondly at the envelope on her lap. "Mikoto. A girl I met at the orphanage."

"Oh yes, I remember her!" Minato said, holding up a finger. "Yes, we talked to her while we were up there looking for you. She was the one with those cute little pigtails, right?"

"Yes, that's her."

"Right! It was her who set us on the path to finding you. She seemed like a very nice girl to me."

"She wasn't so nice at first," muttered Yukina under her breath, recalling her meeting with the orphan. Minato rebuked her with a disapproving glance, but Ruri actually nodded her head in comprehension. 

"I found that too," she murmured softly, though the simple phrase didn't do nearly sufficient justice to the hell Mikoto had put her through during the early days of her orphanage stay.  

"So what was she like as a friend?" asked Minato, eager to make conversation. 

Ruri tipped her head back as she recalled her memories of the histrionic orphan. "She was…very different to me," she stated eventually. "She never had problems displaying her emotions and personally I found her to be something of a drama queen. We had a strange relationship, but she certainly made my time in the orphanage more interesting. She made things much easier, and harder, than they would otherwise have been."

"Easier _and harder?" inquired Yukina dubiously._

"Yes," replied Ruri. "You see, I knew two Mikotos. One was a mean and callous girl who hated me without reason and took pleasure in my discomfort. But the other was a true friend who took a great interest in my life and would have done anything to help me. In the end, I am glad she was there," She bowed her head slightly, lowering her lids. "She made a lonely time for me a little more bearable."

"Poor Ruri," murmured Minato, gently stroking the girl's shoulder. "You do know that we would have never let them send you away to that awful orphanage if we'd known about it, don't you?"

"Yes," Ruri nodded with sincerity and a smile. "Yes, I do know that."

"Good. I'm glad," said the brown-haired woman, patting her cheek affectionately. "I wouldn't have wanted my Ruri-Ruri to think that we would just ditch her like some unwanted toy," She entwined her slender fingers with those of the young girl and squeezed them happily. Ruri looked back up at her and together they smiled into each others eyes with a fond intimacy which they had never quite reached during their time on the Nadesico.  

_"A gaze like that does not lie. She really does care for me doesn't she?" _Ruri's thought, her lips folding in pensively._ "But I wonder why?" _

The moment was interrupted as Yurika and Akito breathlessly burst into the room. The former captain was beaming like the sun, but there was something tentative in Akito's smile. Like he was anxious about something. Ruri dismissed it – it was probably nothing. 

"Hello everyone!" Yurika chirped cheerfully. "Wow Ruri, you look completely back to normal now!"

"She does. It's the bunches that do it!"Minato laughed, playfully batting one of them with her hand. Ruri made a tiny flicker of annoyance, but said nothing. 

"Did you get the ice-cream?" Yukina asked impatiently.

"The ice cream?" Akito hesitated for a moment, then slapped his forehead in disbelief. "Damn! I left it outside!" He immediately turned and made for the door. "I'll go get it! Aw crap, it's probably all melted by now!"

"Idiot!" murmured the Jovian girl, taking the word right out of Ruri's mouth. 

            Just as Akito was reaching for the handle, the door opened and Miss Fressange poked her head in, causing him to jolt back. The doctor instantly looked to Ruri and smiled. 

            "Oh good, you're decent. It's just that you have another visitor out here."

            Ruri cocked her head curiously. "Another visitor?"

"Yes. Would you like me to show him in?"

Ruri nodded once. "Yes, of course." She wondered who it could possibly be. 

She might have guessed it. The doctor stepped aside to make way for a tall, back-haired man, the sight of whom turned Akito's face to fire and Ruri's blood to ice.  

"Mr Akatsuki?" she exclaimed, her face falling in disbelief.  

The chairman of Nergal threw his head back and laughed out loud. "She recognises me! Does this mean we have a full recovery?"

Ruri's astonishment fell into a deadly glare. "What are you doing here?"

"Yeah, just what the hell _are_ you doing here?!" shouted Akito, rage swelling up in him as he confronted the man responsible for all of Ruri's suffering. "You heartless bastard! I should pummel you after what you tried to do to our Ruri!" He advanced dangerously on the taller man, completely lost to his fiery rage. 

"What are you going to do, fanboy? _Gekigan__ Flare me?" sneered Akatsuki. _

Quickly seeing that no-one else was going to restrain the cantankerous cook, Miss Fressange stepped in to block Akito's warpath. "Please calm yourself Akito," she said hurriedly. "I invited him here. We have something very important to discuss." 

"But he…" he protested before Ruri cut him off.

"Please Mr Tenkawa, let's hear him out,"

As angry as he was, the girl's quiet voice was able to penetrate Akito's fury. With an angry growl, he strode away from the other man to stand over by the bed, positioning himself protectively between chairman and child. Though he remained silent, the smouldering gaze that remained on Akatsuki revealed his feelings very well. 

"Good," said Akatsuki, nodding to Akito to acknowledge his submission. "I didn't come here for a fight, I came here to put a lid on this very unfortunate situation that has arisen," He coughed to concede the understatement. "I know a lot of water has passed under the bridge, but I hope we can discuss things like civilised adults." 

"I would hardly call you _civilised_, Mr Akatsuki." Ruri muttered, somewhat petulantly. 

With an ironic grin, Akatsuki recalled his sly humour. "Well I would hardly call you an _adult_ but let's compromise on that, shall we? Now come on, let's get down to business, we have much to discuss." He took a few steps towards her, but stopped in his tracks at a warning glare from Akito and spoke from where he stood. His voice was apologetic, but professionally so and still contained his constant, underlying pride. 

"Well, before I say anything else, I wish to apologise for the distress this whole assassin business must have caused you. In retrospect, I was wrong in my decision to put a hit on you. It did seem like a sound idea at the time, but I can see now that it was a bit extreme." He shrugged indifferently. "I'm very sorry for my actions, but I was acting on impulse. Although in my defence, I _was a little annoyed when you turned down my generous offer."_

            "_A little annoyed!?_" Akito shouted hotly, his fists firmly clenched by his sides. "She could have died, you murderous bastard!"  

            "Calm down Tenkawa. It's not like she was actually killed," said Akatsuki, composed as ever. "And what's more, I wasn't directly responsible for the final assassination attempt, the one which nearly killed her."

            "Yeah, right," muttered Akito darkly. "So your assassin just somehow _happened_ to find her on the Nadesico?"

            Akatsuki spread his arms in protest, but didn't lose his grin. "I swear it didn't factor in my plans and I never actually authorised it. It was all Erina's doing." He smirked evilly. "It was a desperate attempt to re-curry my favour. You see, I was a tad displeased with her after I received a certain unexpected visitor in my office." He cast his leer over to the girl in the bed.   

            "But how did _she_ know where she was?" Minato asked. 

            Akatsuki looked over to her, his sneer widening. "Carelessness on Ruri's part. Miss Hoshino seemed to forget that every Nadesico communicator is installed with a homing beacon."

"Ah! Idiot!" Ruri whispered to herself, only now realising what her near-fatal mistake had been. 

"Of course, that made tracking her down actually very simple. Then once Erina discovered you were on the Nadesico, she informed our friend and the rest is history." He laughed shortly. "Thankfully there was no harm done and I assure you that Miss Won will be facing severe disciplinary action."

"What do you mean no harm done?" blurted Akito. "She was nearly killed! She was in a coma thanks to that poison and if it hadn't been for Miss Fressange, she would have died!"

            "True, true," said Akatsuki, a little more seriously. "I understand what has happened and I admit it was a very regrettable incident. So for that, I offer you my most sincere apologies." He bowed his head in a show of mock repentance.    

            "Please spare me your empty regret, Mr Akatsuki." Ruri said, her eyes taking on an aggressive slant. "It's too late. Your apologies mean nothing to me now. At this point, blame doesn't make a difference and saying sorry won't stop me from hating you and everything about your stupid, self-serving nature." Her gaze was practically stabbing him by the end. However, the blades in her words seemed unable to penetrate Akatsuki's sure composure, for he just stood there and laughed. 

"Ha! For a kitten, your scratches sure do smart!"

            Ruri lowered her head a touch, but kept her frosty stare fixed on him. "I would have thought you'd have already known that after our last meeting. Tell me Mr Akatsuki, have you heard anything from the UEAF yet?"              

            "Ah yes, the UEAF," replied the Nergal chairman. "They contacted me this morning. They're sending an investigative team to the Nergal Five's hanger on the moon." He delivered his characteristic laugh. "I doubt they'll like what they find up there!"

            "Wow," murmured Minato. "You seem kind of upbeat for a man whose master plan is about to fall apart around him."

            Akatsuki laughed again and spread his arms. "It all depends on which way you look at it. My father once told me that winning was everything. But my elder brother had a more lenient policy. He said there was no shame in losing so long as your opponent was worthy. And so you have proved, Miss Hoshino. You're only a young girl, but you managed to evade a hired assassin, travel all the way to Hiratsuka under your own devices and then infiltrate and hack into the biggest corporation on the planet. That's not too shabby in my book. I commend you."

            Ruri's expression didn't change. "I thank you for the compliment. But still, I wouldn't have had to do any of that if you had a bit more compassion in your soul."

            "Ah!" Akatsuki chuckled. "There's that word again!"

            "Yes. But I doubt you'd understand it even if we tattooed it to the back of your hand." 

            He let that pass. "Well, I suppose now you can see why I was so eager to hire you," he continued, gesturing at her. "Your performance in attaining your goals is a true testament to your ability and value. What can I say? You're a miracle Ruri. We could have achieved much together." 

            "Much destruction you mean,"

            "Well by that as it may," replied Akatsuki with a glib wave of his hand. "But in any case, with us or against us, you needn't fear for you life anymore. I've had a change of heart, you see. You have nothing more to fear from myself or Nergal." His eyes narrowed slightly and his thin mouth curved up again as he continued. "However, if I'm to do this for you, I would ask a small favour in return."

            "Of course," stated Ruri tartly. "You don't give anything away for free."

            Akatsuki continued, unperturbed. "All I'm asking is for you to keep my rash plan to bump you off hush-hush," He gestured in emphasis. "It's all in the past now, there's really no need for the world to know about it." 

            "Oh I see! Now that your scheme didn't work out, you want to wash your hands of the crime!" snapped Akito. "Like hell we'll keep this a secret! You're going down Akatsuki, I'll make sure of it!"

            "Wait Mr Tenkawa. His bargain does make sense," said Ruri. Everyone turned to her as she continued in her typical steady tone. "If he were to kill me now, there would be nothing to stop any of you exposing the evidence to the world to prove he was the man responsible. Imagine the scandal – Nergal assassinates one of its former employees for refusing to stay on with them. A story like that could cripple the company and I sincerely doubt Akatsuki would be permitted to remain as chairman. But say we reveal the proof now and he was removed from power as a result – that would mean he'd have a lot less to lose from killing me and I'm sure he would not hesitate to do so. What we have now is an automatic deal and there is no need for us to go down together."

"That's precisely it," said Miss Fressange. "It's the prisoner's dilemma. If either party tries to cheat the deal, then both will end up worse off, but by cooperating they can maximise their joint welfare."

            "So we have an agreement then." said Akatsuki, all business-like. "I'll play fair if you will, Ruri."             

            "Right," said Ruri, bobbing her head at him. "I can only speak for myself, but I will accept your terms," 

            "Yes, we all do," said Yurika. Everyone else seconded her agreement with nods, though Akito's was noticeably resentful. 

"A wise decision Ruri. This concurrence will benefit both of us," Akatsuki murmured. He then grinned at her slyly. "Everybody wins. So would you say this conforms to your 'true justice' then Miss Hoshino?"

Ruri shrugged nonchalantly. "Not really, but it's as close as we're going to get," 

"Maybe so!" Akatsuki laughed. "But those who can't have a holiday in the sun must make do with a rainy camping trip. Never mind! But come, if you accept the deal, let us shake on it."

He came across the room towards her bedside. At a nod from the girl in the bed, Akito grudgingly stepped to one side to let the chairman through. He grinned down at her as he held out his hand. Eyeing it suspiciously at first, Ruri eventually put her own tiny palm in his and shook it weakly. The gesture held no warmth. This wasn't forgiveness or even respect she was offering. For her, it was merely the sealing of a deal of mutual benefit, the formation of a pax which would allow both of them to get on with their lives without aggravating old wounds further than they needed to. That was all Akatsuki would ever get from her.  

Akatsuki, who'd put more gusto into the motion, gave her hand one last solid shake, before releasing it. "Well, I suppose that concludes our business," He made a positive gesture with his right hand. "Of course, there's still a job for you at Nergal should you want it, just as a regular employee, not part of a gunship crew. We'll need talents like yours to rebuild ourselves after the UEAF tear us apart!"

"I don't think so, Mr Akatsuki," stated Ruri, no humour in her voice. 

The Nergal chairman shrugged hopelessly. "Can't blame me for trying," With that, he spun on his heel and started towards the door. "Well, I guess I'll take my leave now before the fanboy savages me. I'm a busy man you know. People to see, matters to attend to, money to be made!" Tossing his head back he delivered his vigorous laugh once again. "Be seeing you all!" He was still laughing as he left, the sound of his humour echoing in his wake as he departed down the corridor.

"Go jump off a cliff, you rat," muttered Yukina under her breath, as the door closed to shut Akatsuki out of their lives once again.  

Akito was glaring crossly at the door, as if accusing it for admitting Akatsuki in the first place. "That bastard!" he grunted, letting his frustration out to play. "I can't believe he get off scot-free!"

"Oh cheer up Akito," said Yurika, touching his arm to pacify him. "Ruri survived and that's the main thing. Akatsuki doesn't matter anymore." 

"Right. But you know, he seemed altogether too cheery in my opinion," mused Minato, pursing her lips thoughtfully.  

"Well, who knows what goes on inside his head," murmured Inez. "But then if you think about it, the whole situation is kind of humorous. A world business leader's master plan, one with massive implications for the future of the human race, was utterly devastated by one preteen orphan girl who he let in on it. Personally, I find it kind of amusing too." She emitted a small chuckle, fixing her red lips into a smile.  

"But surely he should be just a bit more upset?" Minato asked. "I mean, its like he said – the UEAF will tear him apart!"

"Oh, the UEAF will be lenient with him and he knows it," Inez continued, falling back into her explanation mode. "Since the construction of the Nergal Five began before the official decision to pursue peace with the Jovians was announced, he wasn't actually doing too much legally wrong, save for keeping its development a secret. I expect that the ship will be confiscated and he'll be given a severe warning, but apart from that I doubt he'll be left much worse for wear."    

"What about the deal?" asked Yurika, her tone a little concerned. "Are you really sure he'll uphold his end of the bargain and leave Ruri alone?"

            Miss Fressange exhaled thoughtfully. "I honestly don't think he would take such a foolish risk in trying to kill her again. The gains to him wouldn't be worth the potential cost. Since he doesn't know how many people we've told about this whole assassination story, he can never be certain of destroying all knowledge of it altogether, even if he killed everyone in this room. No, he's not stupid enough to risk his whole company, just for vengeance."  She gave a brief sigh. "And in any case, I'm sure it won't be long before he puts this setback behind him and cooks up another dastardly scheme to replace it." 

"I've no doubt that he will," said Ruri. "But for now I hope I can finally put all this behind me. This last month has been the most horrible time of my life and I am glad that it's finally over," She fell back against her pillow, as kind of a symbolisation of her new peace of mind. "All I want to do is look to the future, because whatever it will bring cannot fail to be more pleasant than my recent life has been." 

            She mentally choked as she said those words out loud, for she'd thought and spoken them at the same time. She'd just said she would look to her future, but what future did she have? She'd won an epic battle for survival, but that didn't change anything. Essentially she was in the same situation as she had been four weeks ago, when Erina had told her she wasn't been detained with the rest of the crew. Nothing had changed. She was still a discarded tool, an unwanted child alone in the world. Thinking that caused her to panic, but she suppressed it quickly. Today was about being thankful for her recovery and reunion. There'd be plenty of time later on for her to worry about tomorrow.

            "Ruri? Are you okay?" Yurika asked concernedly. 

            "I…I'm fine," Ruri blurted, Yurika's words startling her back to reality. Inwardly she scolded herself – she hadn't meant to lapse so noticeably. 

"Ha! Lost you there for a moment!" laughed Minato. 

"So what _are going to do when you get out of hospital?" Yukina suddenly asked, before anyone could stop her. _

Ruri twitched anxiously – Yukina had just followed the same track she had and had reached the same crucial issue. And unfortunately, she had brought it right out into the open. In a tiny mutter, she cursed the Jovian girl – she'd wanted the question to remain silent, and judging by their alarmed frowns in Yukina's direction, so had the adults. 

"I don't know yet," she replied eventually, using the blandest tone she could muster to make it sound trivial and to hide the very real fears that hid behind the answer. Feeling that more was needed to eliminate the awkwardness, she added, "But I certainly won't be working for Nergal. And I won't be returning to Seven Oaks either." 

She desperately hoped that reply sounded more satisfactory to their ears than it did to her own. 

As she'd spoken, she spied Yurika slipping a quick word to Akito, to which he'd nodded in response. After a thoughtful moment, he leaned closer to his girlfriend and spoke gently to her, in a voice low enough for only her to hear. Yurika smiled back at him, then gave him a doting pat on the cheek and turned to address the three other women in the room.

"Um, could you give us a moment with Ruri please?" 

Giving them a knowing smile, Minato nodded and placed a hand of Yukina's shoulder, both of them standing together. She gave Ruri an encouraging wink before leaving with the Jovian girl and Miss Fressange. At their exit, Ruri switched her gaze over to Akito and Yurika, now the only ones left in the room with her. 

_"Hmm, this is suspicious." _

With the departure of half their number, a ghostly silence descended onto the room, changing the atmosphere completely. Suddenly, the tension had been cranked up a few notches and Ruri found herself feeling quite insecure. Akito went over to close the door, while Yurika sat down on the bed, just next to her knees. The ex-captain gave her a wan smile, but instead of reassuring her, it just served to disturb Ruri further.   

_"What are you afraid of? Stop being so childish!" _she chided herself. Still she couldn't shake the premonitory feeling that something momentous was about to happen. The change in the couple's typically expressive demeanour spoke volumes to her. __

Akito came back over and seated himself in the chair, shifting around uncomfortably. "Okay, right, well," he started pathetically, before looking over to Yurika for support. She gave him an encouraging nod to spur him on. 

            "Okay. So Ruri, are you feeling alright?" blurted Akito, his voice on the verge of a stutter. 

            "..…yes." said Ruri hesitantly. _"Are you?"_ she added in her mind. By now her suspicions were fully aroused and all her senses had been put on red alert. Something definitely wasn't right here – she could practically smell the sweat underlying their calm façade. 

            "Er, good. Listen, now that you're awake we'd like to run something by you. 

Something we've been discussing ever since you went missing."

            "Uh-huh?" Ruri prompted. What _was_ this about?  

            "Yes, we've been talking about it, but it didn't take us long to make our choice," said Yurika, infinitely more composed than Akito was. "We came to our decision and now we'd like to put the question to you."

            Ruri nodded impatiently for her to continue, wishing she would just get to the point. 

            "We're not really sure how we should do this, so we're just going to ask you," Yurika continued in a slow, measured tone. "You can give whatever answer you want, whenever you're ready to do so. We just want to make that clear – there's absolutely no pressure at all."

            "Yeah, none at all," seconded Akito quickly.

_"What is it!?" _Ruri's mind screamed, her curiosity on the verge of boiling over. _"What is it that you want to tell me? Please, just say it Captain,"_

            "Well, here goes," Yurika said finally. With a deep breath she spoke the question which was to change Ruri's life forever.             

 "Ruri, how would you like to join our family?" 

*          *          *

Ruri had gone through a good few shocks today, but this one effortlessly topped them all. For a moment everything went blank – her ears heard the words but her brain didn't. Over the next few seconds she replayed them a million times in her mind, each time coming closer and closer to understanding exactly what had just been said to her. Then her heart lurched in her chest as she finally twigged it.   

            _"Join their family? Then…they mean…I would be their daughter? Is that what they're saying?"_

            Of course it was, what else could it be? As her mind stumbled across the boundary of impossibility, she found herself feeling flustered and giddy, like she was about to give it all up and faint. Her heartbeat shot into overdrive, and every little breath suddenly became a major chore. Mercifully, she was able to hold herself together and raised her head to re-establish eye-contact with the couple. Both were staring intently at her, their faces somewhere between friendly smiles and nervous gapes as they awaited the reaction beyond her silence. With difficulty, she gave it to them.          

            "You…wish…to adopt me?" she stuttered breathlessly.  

            "Yes, we really do Ruri," said Akito. His smile was nervous, but true.

            She clasped her hands together and brought them up to her chest, holding them there as if in prayer. "You would…you would be my parents?"

            "Yes, Ruri dearest," said Yurika, her enthusiasm tempered by her genuine tone. "If you let us, we'll be your Mama and Papa. We'll look after you, give you a home and make sure you're never lonely again."

Ruri swallowed, fruitlessly striving for composure. Taking a few heavy breaths to steady her thumping heart, she brought her head up again, mouth ajar in a soundless gasp.  

            "But why?" she peeped, imploring them with her angel eyes. "Why would you want _me?"_

            The question caught them off guard and she saw a quick, uneasy glance pass between them. For a moment it seemed as though any reply they made would be a bumbling attempt to avoid a direct answer. But that was only until Akito stood and seized his destiny with both hands. With a decisive step, he came over, sunk down to her level and looked her right in the face. When he spoke, his gentle voice flowed with that same tender rhythm of sincerity it always possessed.                

            "Ruri, despite what you or anyone else thinks, you're a wonderful girl. You're smart, you're beautiful and you always try to do what is right. I mean who could want more from a child? We're not adopting you out of sympathy you know," He gently placed his hand on her shoulder, forcing her to meet his eyes so he could stare into her soul."We love you Ruri. We love who you are and, if you let us, we'll do the very best we can to give you all the happiness you deserve." 

Every word that came from his mouth was a heavenly chord to her ears.** The glorious sentiment they held, the sheer honesty of how they were expressed – they bathed Ruri's soul in splendour it had never known. It was incredible, how could anyone say such sweet words about _her_? Suddenly choked up with emotion, she bowed her head, allowing her snowy fringe to veil her eyes. ******

            "Of course, you don't have to make any decisions now," Akito quickly added, clearly thinking he'd scared or offended her with his bold words. "There's no hurry, you can take all the time you need to think it over,"****

            "That's right!" chirped Yurika, squeezing her hand encouragingly. "All we want is for you to be happy. We'll support you whatever you decide."

            "No," replied Ruri in a tiny voice. "I don't need time to think. Not any more," 

She already knew what her answer would be. In some ways she'd known it her whole life. It was as if it had been lying dormant inside of her, waiting patiently all this time for this chance to surface. With a slow swallow, she lifted her head again, her magnificent golden eyes shimmering like sunlight on water.      

"I've never known what it is to be wanted. My whole life I've been all by myself, walking alone on my wretched path of cold logic and dormant feelings. That was how I thought I was meant to be, forever lonely and unattached, never loving nor loved. And as much as I desired a family, I knew that I could never ever have one, for who could possibly care for a loathsome freak like myself?" She bowed her head a touch, her voice on the verge of cracking. After sniffing twice to stem the emotional geyser threatening to erupt inside her, she bravely faced them again and continued in a choked whisper.

"Yurika, Akito, what you are offering me now is everything my heart has ever yearned for. A real family, a proper home and a final end to my days of caged solitude. I…I love you both and if you'll truly have me as a daughter then I promise you that I'll spend the rest of my life repaying your kindness,"

"So then you'll…?"Akito gasped, trailing off in wonder. 

Ruri nodded, her whole heart in the motion. "Yes. I will be yours if you will be mine."

            She couldn't say any more, for on the final word her face crumpled up, releasing the first gleaming tears from her eyes. They rolled down her cheeks slowly, leaving silvery trails in their wake as they descended to touch the edge of her trembling lips. Then, at the very moment they dropped off her chin, she doubled over and covered her face with her hands, melting in the face of emotions never encountered before now.

            "Oh Ruri," gasped Yurika, awestruck by her words. "Oh my dear Ruri! Come here!" She launched forward to catch the tiny girl in her arms, drawing her close and kissing her lovingly on the cheek. Ruri wept freely into her shoulder, clinging onto her with love that had been repressed her whole life until now. The depth of her sobs told of the vast longing within her, finally fulfilled tonight after so, so long. That essential need of a child for her parents and for the security, faith and unconditional love they provided. That most precious bond that no child can be happy without.

"I…I," Ruri tried in vain to produce proper words, but found herself incapable of speaking them. Yurika gently stroked her back, soothingly shushing her as she pressed her face into the child's silken hair. No words were needed now, only these tears could convey the depth of meaning this had for the tiny albino girl. Her mental dam had finally been breached and now her emotions gushed forth in an unstoppable torrent, smoothly sweeping away the barriers which had once kept sealed them inside her. Like a princess in a tower, she'd only needed love for her true self to awaken.

Another pair of arms encircled both of them and though her vision was blurred, Ruri could tell that they belonged to the most special man in her life. Akito Tenkawa, the knight who would become her father. She lashed out with her right arm, hooking onto his mid-section so that together they formed a three-way embrace, a verification of their union. Ruri held onto both of them with a most possessive passion. They were _hers now. They were her Mama and Papa. And not just in name, but in every other way too. For though they weren't tied to her by blood, they cared about her enough to invite her to share in the heavenly bliss they'd found in each other. Their hearts had chosen her to be their daughter and playing that role would make her a happier girl than she had ever been. _

_"I have a family! Yurika is my Mother and Akito is my Father. Finally, I have two people I can call my own. Two real parents after so much time and heartache. It's…just too perfect for words to say."_

Ruri's ecstasy reached a peak as both her parents, one each side, gently touched their lips to her cheeks. She could tell that they were both as elated as she was – she could feel both of them quivering in rapture against her body and her shoulders were moist with their tears. Yurika hugged her with soft motherly warmth and tenderness, while Akito's embrace was firm and protective, but with a base of pure love for the two special girls who were now the foundation of his life. They all clutched each other with strength enhanced by adoration, their bodies as close as the divine tie they now shared.

There is nothing so beautiful as the feeling of love confirmed. In that room, the most wonderful of all emotions ran unbridled and tears of joy fell like raindrops from heaven. Today a family had been created – Father, Mother and Daughter. Three souls bound together by the strength of their love for each other – it was as true a union as there could ever be. It was in that magical moment, where three became one, that everyone heard a new sound. A sound which had never graced the air with its presence. A sound beautiful, joyful and easy on the ear. A sound more perfectly musical than the sweetest of melodies. For the sound they heard was Ruri, laughing in joy for the very first time. 

            And it wasn't to be the last time either.


	30. Epilogue

_'Wherever you are, that's where I belong.' -- Jun Aoi, Episode 3___

****

**Epilogue**

_Dear Mikoto,_

_Thank you for the letter. I apologise for the lateness of my reply, but I've been very busy over the last few weeks. I also apologise for the state of my writing. I was going to type it but Mother told me that a letter to a friend should be handwritten since that makes it more personal. Personally I think it's very primitive, but I'm doing it this way to humour her. I just hope you'll be able to read it. _

_In any case, I'm glad to say that things have finally worked out. It's a long story, so I won't go into the details, but I will say that no-one's trying to kill me anymore and that I've finally found a life that I can be happy in . Soon after I woke up in hospital, I was adopted by Captain Misumaru and Mr Tenkawa. We're now living together in a small village on the outskirts of __Hiratsuka__ and have set up a restaurant here with the funds we'd saved while onboard the Nadesico. We've called it Utopian Sunrise__, a reference to Father and Mother's former home on Mars. It's been Father's life-long dream to be chef of his very own restaurant, so naturally he's very excited about it. He's the cook, Mother is the waitress and I do a little bit of everything. It's been very hard work so far, seeing as it's just the three of us, but I've been enjoying it immensely, especially helping out Father in the kitchen. At the moment business is pretty slow since we've only just opened, but everyone who's come so far has enjoyed their meal and I'm sure we'll become more popular once word gets around. In my opinion we should be planning to expand soon, if we are to deal with the rising demand and to operate on an efficient scale. Mother and Father, on the other hand, both think we'll cope fine with only the three of us and that we won't need any extra staff. What can I say? They're both idiots. Idiots, but I love them.  _

_At Mother's suggestion, I've started writing a book about my experiences on the Nadesico in my spare time. I've titled it 'Those Unforgettable Days,' and I've covered the first few weeks of my Nadesico career so far. It's coming along okay, but there have been a few points where I can't find anything interesting to write, such as that long, boring journey to Mars. There are also moments where I have trouble expressing what I was feeling at the time. I often wonder whether I should be committing such personal thoughts to paper, but I guess it's important for us to preserve our memories for they're all precious, whether fond, painful or otherwise. Well, in any case, Miss Fressange says she'll edit it for me when it's finished. I'll send you a copy when it's done if you like, but that probably won't be any time soon. _

_By the way, I have one more favour to ask of you. Could you please thank Miss Nishida on my behalf for taking care of me while I was in the orphanage? And if it will put her mind at rest then please go ahead and tell her that I'm safe now and she needn't worry about me anymore. You can even tell her what I'm doing now if you like, but please keep quiet about Nergal and the assassin. That has to remain a secret for various reasons. But I know that I can trust you with it. _

_Well, I hope I'll be able to see you soon. If I get the chance I'll come down on the train and visit you sometime. But you're always welcome to come and visit us up here – maybe you could come up for a weekend sometime and you can try Father's cooking! _

_I hope you are well and are enjoying life. _

_Sincerely yours, _

_Ruri _

_P.S. Congratulations on your victory against __Leon__. When you play next, use this move – seven-twenty motion, punch, punch, kick. If you master that one, no-one will be able to beat you. _

            Ruri laid down her pen and tilted her head, studying the letter critically. It seemed to read satisfactorily; perhaps this one would be the final draft. That would be a relief – her wrist was numb from over usage and the wastepaper basket beneath her desk was full to bursting with the scrunched-up remains of those which hadn't made the grade. 

_"This would have taken no more than five minutes using a computer. I hope she appreciates this."_

Well, in any case it was done now. It had taken her the whole morning, but at last she had something to show for her efforts. After blowing on it gently to help the ink dry, she set the letter carefully to one side of her desk and replaced it with an envelope. Taking a moment to dig the details from her memory, she began to address it to Mikoto at the Seven Oaks orphanage.

_"Hmm, I never learned her surname. Oh well, I'm sure it will get to her." _

Just then, without warning, the door burst open behind her, causing her to jolt and draw a startled line through the otherwise immaculate address she'd written. She gave a small irritated huff and immediately reached for another envelope, without turning to confront her visitor. She could tell it was Akito from the measure of his stride and the sound of his breathing, but she kept writing without looking up as he came up and draped his arms around her from behind. 

            "Hi Ruri! How's the letter going?" he asked cheerfully, looking down over her shoulder at her handiwork. 

            Ruri finished off the postcode before replying. "I've just finished."

            "Great timing!" her dad chuckled, giving her an affectionate squeeze. "We're opening in a few minutes." 

            "Is it that time already?" Ruri asked, tilting her head back to smile up at him. 

            "Yeah," replied Akito, his face up-side down from her perspective. "But there's no rush, it'll take a while for customers to start coming in."

            "It's a sunny day," Ruri noted, nodding to the open window, which allowed glorious sunshine and a refreshing spring breeze into the room. "That should be good for business,"

            "Yeah, I hope so!" said Akito. "Guess people will want to sit out in the sun. In fact, I'd better go and put the chairs down outside before we open up." He planted a kiss on the top of her head, then turned to walk back over to the door. "Come down wherever you're ready, okay?"    

"Yes. I'll be down in a moment Father."            

Akito gave her another grin which Ruri returned as her father closed the door behind him. She then swivelled around on her chair to return her focus back to the envelope. The address was complete – all it needed was a stamp. She took one out from her desk drawer and, with a lick and a slap, her letter was ready to be sent. 

            _"Right.__ Time to get ready."_

            Putting her letter to one side to be posted later on, she went over to her closet and fastened her tiny waitress' apron around her waist. The garment had been a 'good luck' gift from Minato when they'd first opened the restaurant and was white and lacy with a little black kitten's face embroidered in one corner. While she still didn't understand the whole cat resemblance thing, she wore it anyway – the subtle elegance it gave her was worth the extra 'cute' compliments. Once she'd put it on, she went over to her body-length mirror to make sure she was presentable.

            The smile that came back at her was absolutely exquisite. It was like a lovely flower that had broken through icy ground to glory the world with its presence. Ruri was delighted that such a wonderful expression, completely unknown to her former lives as a cold-hearted mutant and a miserable orphan, could belong to her. The child in the mirror was a happy girl revelling in the sparkling bliss of youth, her joyful disposition perfectly complimenting her pale angelic beauty. And it was _her. _

            _"Yes, this is me. This is the Ruri I want to be!"_

            "The Ruri I want to be." she repeated out loud. Yes, this was her finest side she was seeing. Akito and Yurika had brought out the very best in her.             

            She stood before the mirror a moment longer to brush a few stray hairs back into place. Once she'd satisfied her vain streak, she gave herself one more cheeky little smile and left her tiny bedroom, closing the door behind her. She then proceeded to make her way along the landing and downstairs into the restaurant proper.    

            The dining room of _Utopian Sunrise_ was small by normal restaurant standards, being more café sized really. Nevertheless, it was the largest room in the house, occupying most of the ground floor and having enough room for six family-sized tables and a few smaller ones around the edges without being too cramped. Every place had already been immaculately set out with clean cutlery and placemats in preparation for the coming day. Now all they needed were customers to fill them. Ruri made a quick inspection of the room, finding everything to her satisfaction, save one empty salt-shaker. Before she went on into the kitchen, she made a point of changing the sign on the door from 'closed' to 'open'. Akito, idiot that he was, had forgotten to do that a few days ago with disastrous consequences and Ruri had vowed never to let the same mistake happen again. 

She entered the kitchen to the sight and sound of her mother. Yurika was sitting on a stool and singing merrily to herself as she wiped plates with a warm cloth, her beautiful blue hair swaying in perfect time with her tuneful trill. She looked up at Ruri's entry and sent a radiant smile in her direction.  

"Ready to get to work, Ruri?" 

            "Yes!" Ruri asserted cheerfully. "Is there anything you'd like me to do?"

            "Well, you could chop up those vegetables over there for a start," Yurika replied, nodding over to them. "That would be a great help!" 

            "Yes, right away Cap…Mother!" Ruri said, eagerly darting over to the chopping board. Yurika chuckled lightly and ruffled the girl's hair as she raced past her. Ruri's enthusiasm, when compared to her former subdued manner, was a marvel to behold. The harsh winter of her cold stoic nature had given way to a fabulous spring of youthful exuberance. She was almost a completely new girl, and yet despite this metamorphosis, she still retained all of the wonderful traits which had always defined her as Ruri Hoshino. Her adorable appearance, righteous heart and brilliant mind had all survived the transformation and combined fluently with her new demeanour to create the loveliest little girl. 

            "It's such a beautiful day, isn't it Ruri?!" Yurika chirped happily. "I'll bet we'll be able to fill the whole restaurant!"

"Yes, it certainly is," Ruri replied, putting an onion to the blade. "I imagine we'll be kept very busy today,"

"That's just the way we like it, Ruri dear!" Yurika laughed, launching her fist eagerly into the air. "Bring 'em on, I can't wait to get started!" 

Ruri sighed, but with affection. Her mother's perpetual passion for everything she did was truly astounding. It made her all the more lovable.  

_"She's just such a fantastic person. I'm so lucky to be her daughter."_

She smiled fondly to herself as she started to shell onion number two. Yurika was truly the best mother she could have ever hoped for. 

Just then, Akito ducked into the room, a triumphant grin riding high on his face. "Heads up you two, we have a customer!"

"I'm right on it Akito, my darling!" Yurika sang, pecking him on the cheek before heading off to take the order. Ruri regarded them both with a smile before proceeding with her work. As her body set about the repetitive task, her mind was left free to drift off into the mental musings of her own philosophies. She began to reflect on the new life she had now, this wonderful fountain pouring more happy memories into the pool of her mind with every second that passed. 

_"Once upon a time I was told that we live for those memories of the days gone by. Those were Omoikane's words – Those Unforgettable Days, For Them I Live. But I now realise that we can't live our whole lives for the past. Our yesterday is important, but we cannot hold it above our today and tomorrow._

_"We live for the memories of days gone by and the promise of days yet to come. We also live for the present moment, even though it lasts only for a second. Sometimes the setting of that present is oppressive and we struggle to wring a meaningful life from it. But adapting to that setting so that we fit in is not necessarily the answer. We must not change out fundamental principles and inner personality just to suit our environment. We must always remain true to who we are, no matter what situation we're in. Our 'self', the very concept of who we are, is the most vital aspect of us. It defines us and makes us unique. We should not give it up, not for any reason.   _

_            "But we should not have to suffer to protect our identity. It is possible to both be yourself and have happiness in life. So if we find ourselves in a setting that rejects us and our values, we need to find a new setting. A place where we belong."_

_"So what setting should we chose in order to be true to ourselves and attain pleasure in our daily lives?_

_"The answer is so obvious, I can't believe it evaded me for so long. Geographical location is irrelevant – it is the people around us that really matter to happiness. The place where I belong is the place where people accept me and love me for what I am. A place where I can be myself among the people who care for me. And that place is right here, as a daughter to Akito and Yurika. Here I have a place I can call my home and a life which can give me all the happiness I have ever dreamed of._

_"Akito and Yurika, they're both such wonderful people. They embody all that which is best in our tainted race, all the values that are righteous and decent. They're the best people I know and with them I am no longer afraid of being who I really am. Because I know they will love me, no matter who I chose to be. And I love them too. I love them so much. I can never thank them enough for taking me into their hearts, but they will have my absolute love and devotion for as long as I live.  They are my true family and beside them I can finally begin a life that's my own for the first time. A life without all the fear, heartache and loneliness that my former self had to suffer. Yes, all that sorrow is in the past now and I can look forward to a bright future together with the people I care for the most. For I have found the place where I belong."_

She gave herself a secretive smirk as she quartered a tomato. When else in her short existence had things been so perfect? This was truly the best it had ever been for her. Her golden age had begun. 

Her musings were suspended as Akito burst into the room again, grinning and breathless in boyish exhilaration.  

"Hey Ruri, we've just been invaded! Three more families have come!"

Ruri craned her neck to face him, golden eyes wide in disbelief. "Already? That's great!"

"Yeah, but it means we'll have to get moving!" he puffed, snatching his long apron off its hook and donning it. "I'll put the rice on now. In the meantime, could you go out and take some orders for me?"

"Sure," Ruri put down the knife, washed her hands and strode out of the kitchen, seamlessly shifting into her waitress role. Her mind subconsciously resumed its former track as she wandered across the dining room towards the main door. 

_"The place where I belong.__ To find it is to find happiness. It's as simple as that."_

Brilliant sunshine caressed her pale smiling face as she stepped outside into the splendid spring day. She raised her head skyward, beaming sweetly and with gratitude to the pure azure heavens. How appropriate this sunny weather was, for now there was more sunshine in her life than ever before. The infinite blue sky resembled the boundless opportunity her future offered her and the smell of freshly-cut grass was full of promise for a hot summer and many upon many good times still to come. And come they would, Ruri was sure, for she had found true happiness at last. 

In a place where she belonged.   

**-------END-------**

**$^-^****$ **

**Final Notes**

**YES! It's finished! It took me six months longer than I thought it would, but it's finally done! ^_^**

**I've tried to leave it at a point whereby the Prince of Darkness movie could potentially follow on, although that is kind of depressing considering they're all so happy at the moment. Think of it whichever way you will, it doesn't matter really. **

**This fic is my salute, not only to the greatest anime series of all time, but the greatest anime character of all time as well (please don't tell me you haven't worked out who that is!). I think I was destined to write a story about Miss Hoshino ever since she stole my heart in episode 18 and this is what I came up with. I wanted to write something that brought out that emotional side of her that we saw only briefly in the series. I wanted to show Ruri as more than just the computer operator with the bland status reports and the frequent 'idiots' remarks, I wanted to delve deeper into the side of her that was a child who had real emotions and yearnings. **

**I hope this doesn't sound too vain, but I'm absolutely delighted with the way this fic's turned out, both in writing terms and the response it received. It's by far the best thing I've ever written and I'm actually very proud of it. It's been a real challenge to write, but I don't regret the time I put into it for second. **

**Before I finish, I'd like to thank Xebec and ADV Films for giving the world the greatest anime series ever. I'd also like to thank Genesis, eels, JJ72, George Michael, Nobuo Uematsu and Project Majestic Mix, for the inspirational music they provided. But most of all I'd like to thank anyone who has read this story right through to the end, and that goes tenfold if you reviewed along the way. Without you guys, I never would have finished this. Your encouragement has really helped to spur me on to get it completed. Cheers everyone, I really appreciated all your comments and it was a real pleasure to write for such a responsive audience. In particular I'd like to thank my three most regular reviewers – obsession, Sora and Chromus. Thanks so much you guys, I'm really grateful. It's people like you who make this site work. **

**Well, if anyone has any further comments, criticism or questions on any aspect of the story, please feel free to leave them in a review or e-mail me at villa_fan5783@hotmail.com. **

**Thanks for reading! ^_^**


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